“Yogurt was first introduced in Colombia in the 20th century.”

Yogurt has been a part of the human diet for several millennia and goes by many names throughout the world. The word "yogurt" is believed to have come from Turkish and the product’s modern commercial history began in the early 20th century, when it was promoted and sold more widely in Europe and North America.

In 1919, Isaac Carasso began producing yogurt in Barcelona. He named the company Danone after his son Daniel. The company later expanded internationally and became one of the best-known yogurt brands in Europe and the United States.

This book describes yogurt as a millenary food whose production likely originated in the Middle East and spread later to Europe, Asia and Africa along with pastoral cultures. It notes that yogurt only became an object of scientific study and wider industrial and commercial diffusion in the early 20th century, but it does not provide any information on the specific timeline of yogurt’s arrival in Colombia or distinguish a Colombian introduction in the 20th century from earlier informal consumption.

This Colombian journal article reviews the history and health effects of yogurt, noting that yogurt and fermented milks have been consumed by humans for many centuries and that their health attributes have long been part of cultural traditions and legends. It states that the scientific association between yogurt and health only gained strength in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century through Metchnikoff’s work, but it does not give any specific information about when yogurt first arrived or was introduced in Colombia.

This Colombian academic work explains that fermented milk similar to yogurt has been consumed since at least 5000 BC in Mesopotamia, and notes that other sources affirm yogurt is originally from Asia or the Balkans and was initially made with sheep and buffalo milk. It describes the industrial and commercial expansion of yogurt in Europe and globally, stating that massive industrial commercialization of yogurt begins in the 1970s, but it does not specify when yogurt was first introduced into Colombia.

Yogurt was catapulted into fame following a lecture given by Elie Metchnikoff in 1904 at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. ... In 1919, a Greek emigrant to Spain named Isaac Carasso started a yogurt factory that later became the Danone company.

This article summarizes the global history of yogurt, stating that it originated more than 4000 years ago in Sumeria, in the region of ancient Mesopotamia, in what is now Turkey. It describes how yogurt production later spread and how industrial yogurt production began in Barcelona in 1917 and then in New York in 1942, and mentions the product’s growing presence in households from the 1950s onward. The text does not refer to Colombia or to a specific date when yogurt first reached the Colombian market or population.

Harvard’s nutrition profile states: “Yogurt is a staple food in several cultures, originating from countries in Western Asia and the Middle East.” It attributes the word’s etymology to Turkish but emphasizes that “fermented milk products similar to yogurt have been consumed for thousands of years” in those regions. The page does not mention Colombia and provides an origin story centered in Western Asia and the Middle East, which conflicts with any claim that yogurt was first introduced in Colombia.

Yogurt has its origins in Turkey. ... Isaac Carasso commercialised yogurt, when he added jam to it in 1919. His son, Daniel founded Danone in France and the first yogurt laboratory and factory was opened in France in 1932.

In the introductory section, this Colombian university project briefly notes that yogurt is an ancient product consumed in different civilizations for centuries and that in Colombia its consumption has increased markedly in recent decades due to industrial production and marketing. However, it provides no historical documentation or dates about the first appearance of yogurt in Colombia, and it does not clearly state that yogurt was first introduced into the country in the 20th century rather than earlier.

The article states that there is no exact record of yogurt’s origin but suggests it may have been discovered in Sumeria in ancient Mesopotamia and later became popular in Central Europe in the early 20th century due to Ilya Metchnikoff. Despite being a Colombian livestock-sector news site, the piece treats yogurt’s history in general terms and does not address when yogurt was first introduced or began to be consumed in Colombia specifically.

Scholarly and industry overviews of yogurt history commonly trace detailed timelines for the Middle East, Europe, North America, and sometimes major Asian markets, but they rarely include specific dates for the first introduction of yogurt in individual Latin American countries such as Colombia. Available reviews instead mention that Colombia has historically had among the lowest yogurt consumption levels in comparative surveys, without tying this to a documented introduction date in the 20th century.

This blog explains that yogurt became popular worldwide in the 20th century thanks to Russian bacteriologist Metchnikoff and describes how industrial yogurt production began in Barcelona in 1917 and in New York in 1942, then expanded with retail sales in the 1950s. It makes only a brief generic statement that yogurt became globally popular because of its health properties and does not discuss Colombia or give any specific claim that yogurt only arrived there for the first time in the 20th century.

This document, focused on artisanal yogurt production in Colombia, states that yogurt became popular worldwide in the 20th century thanks to the Russian bacteriologist Metchnikoff, Nobel laureate in 1908, who discovered positive effects of fermented milk known as "yahourth" among Balkan peasants. It explains that yogurt originated thousands of years ago in the Middle East and that its global popularity is due to its health properties, but it does not provide a specific date or historical evidence for when yogurt first appeared or was introduced in Colombia, nor does it explicitly assert that Colombia only knew yogurt from the 20th century onward.

The oldest froyo shops were founded in 2010: Woody’s, Percimon, Yogen Fruz, IOMI, and The Yogurt Factory. Woody’s opened the first self-serve froyo shop in Colombia in Chia, Colombia, in December 2010.

This article says yogurt has ancient origins and describes its arrival in modern Latin American markets through commercial distribution much later, but it does not identify Colombia as the first place or date of introduction. Its discussion is too general to directly support the claim.