Photo: lohud.com
On 15 October Yogurt became New York’s official state snack. Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill making it the official state snack. In a statement, he said: “New York has become the nation’s top yogurt producer amid the booming popularity of strained Greek-style yogurt.
“Designating yogurt as the official state snack will continue to raise public awareness of the economic and health benefits of yogurt and the dairy industry”.
Only a handful of US states have official snacks. Texas has tortilla chips and salsa, South Carolina has boiled peanuts, Illinois has popcorn and Utah has Jell-O.
New York state produced 741 million pounds (336 million kg) of yogurt last year, accounting for 16% of total US production, the governor’s statement said. Two leading brands of the thick Greek-style yogurt, Ciobani and Fage, have large production plants in New York. Dairy manufacturers in New York employed about 9,500 people with total wages of $513 million in 2013, up from about 8,000 jobs and $401 million in wages in 2010.
The New York Senate passed the bill to make yogurt the official state snack in May 2014.
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