The Non-Fat Yogurt

"**The Non-Fat Yogurt**"
"The Non-Fat Yogurt"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 5; Episode 7
Directed by	Tom Cherones
Written by	Larry David
Production code	507
Original air date	November 4, 1993
Guest appearances
	Wayne Knight as Newman ; Estelle Harris as Estelle Costanza ; Jerry Stiller as Frank Costanza ; Maryedith Burrell as Maryedith; Peter Keleghan as Lloyd Braun; John Christian Graas as Matthew; Hugh A. Rose as Doctor; Lisa Houle as Cheryl; Jed Mills as Joel; John Gabriel as Newscaster; Darrell Kunitomi as Lab Technician; Rudy Giuliani as himself (uncredited);
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Lip Reader"	Next →; "The Barber"
	Seinfeld season 5
	List of episodes

Last updated November 09, 2025

"The Non-Fat Yogurt" is the 71st episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld . It is the seventh episode of the fifth season, and first aired on November 4, 1993.^[1] In this episode, the delicious "non-fat" yogurt at a new shop makes everyone inexplicably gain weight, while George tries to outsmart Lloyd Braun, a big shot from his old neighborhood. These events accidentally change the course of the 1993 New York City mayoral election.

Plot

Kramer has invested in a neighborhood man's non-fat frozen yogurt shop, which is packed with many regulars, including Jerry, Elaine, and George, who indulge themselves without guilt. Jerry drops an F-bomb in praise of the yogurt, accidentally letting the owner's son Matthew hear.

George has an unwanted encounter with Lloyd Braun from his old neighborhood, who is now a big-shot advisor for mayor David Dinkins. George fakes a warm greeting, masking his disrespect by elbowing Jerry. When Lloyd notices, George claims to have hit his elbow, triggering involuntary spasms, and must keep up the act to Lloyd's face. Lloyd and Elaine are charmed by each other.

After scoring a hit with an ad-libbed standup set, Jerry plans to mine his cassette tape of the show for material. Kramer calls out Elaine and Jerry for visibly gaining weight, to their horror. They realize that only the yogurt could have caused this, but Kramer stands behind the shop, and will eat nothing but yogurt for a week if he is wrong.

Lloyd visits George at the Costanzas', having made him an appointment to see Dinkins's orthopedist for the spasm, impressing George's parents. Frank will not let George get out of the appointment, while Estelle eagerly connects Lloyd with Elaine despite George's reluctance.

Buying yogurt for laboratory testing, Jerry and Elaine find Newman and his fellow postal workers carousing over "rounds" of yogurt. At the lab, Kramer somehow woos a chemist in short order, and Jerry assumes he wants to tamper with the lab results. Kramer and the chemist sneak back into the lab for a late-night tryst, and Kramer bumps a rack of test tubes, contaminating a sample of mayoral candidate Rudy Giuliani's blood being tested.

George plans to outwit Lloyd by faking his spasms indefinitely, and makes Elaine back him up on her date with Lloyd, despite her fear that this lie will hang over their future marriage. Since Matthew has learned to swear from Jerry, his mother forces Jerry to recant for Matthew's sake. After setting Matthew straight, Jerry explodes with profanity again when Matthew unwinds his tape.

Discussing the upcoming mayoral election on her date, Elaine fantasizes that, as mayor, she would put name tags on every citizen to help socializing. Now watching her weight, she turns down more yogurt, but her efforts are in vain when she breaks one of Lloyd's chairs. Days later, Dinkins has campaigned on Elaine's idea on Lloyd's advice, drawing public ridicule; Lloyd is fired.

After a thorough examination, the orthopedist sees through George's fakery, and throws him out. George denies everything, but hits his elbow on the doctor's desk, and starts suffering real spasms.

The lab detects fat in the yogurt, and Jerry suspects that this "conspiracy" must run deeper. Just then, TV news reports that Giuliani's cholesterol test came back extremely high, forcing him to face the press. Giuliani is confused that only the non-fat yogurt he has been eating could have caused this, so Jerry blows the whistle to the Giuliani campaign. Giuliani vows to crack down on "falsified non-fat yogurt", which becomes the defining issue that wins him the election. When the blood contamination finally comes to light, it is a moot point.

The yogurt shop is forced to change their recipe. Everyone sits in the now-deserted shop complaining about the new yogurt, which Kramer is forced to eat, while Newman vows revenge on Jerry. Matthew curses at Jerry, now with his mother's approval.

Series continuity

This is the first appearance by Lloyd Braun. He was played by Peter Keleghan. Braun would reappear, played by Matt McCoy, in "The Gum" and "The Serenity Now". Maryedith and Matthew previously appeared in "The Parking Space".

Production

As the episode was to air two days after the 1993 New York City mayoral election, the production crew's solution was to produce two different versions of the episode: one in which Dinkins won, and another in which Giuliani won. The plot is the same in both versions; the Giuliani version simply replaced any reference to Dinkins with a reference to Giuliani, and vice versa. The Seinfeld crew recounted that Giuliani (who was a fan of the show) and his campaign staff were immediately supportive when consulted about the episode, and they made plans to have him appear in the episode.^[2] The Dinkins camp were more reluctant to get involved, and so Phil Morris was cast as a spokesman in lieu of Dinkins himself in the Dinkins version of the episode.^[2]

Because of the short interval between the election and the airing of the episode, Giuliani's scenes had to be filmed on the morning after his victory.^[2] Both versions of the episode were included on the season five DVD.

All instances of the profanities being uttered were censored; there is no uncensored version of this episode available.

The table reading for "The Non-Fat Yogurt" was held on October 20, 1993.

References

↑ "Seinfeld Season 5 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved December 2, 2021.
1 2 3 Seinfeld Season 5: Inside Look - "The Non-Fat Yogurt" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2005.

External links

"The Non-Fat Yogurt" at IMDb

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[tvguide-1] "Seinfeld Season 5 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved December 2, 2021.

[InsLook-2] 1 2 3 Seinfeld Season 5: Inside Look - "The Non-Fat Yogurt" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2005.

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[2]

v t e Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend"† "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip"† "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"†
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats"† "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100"† "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac"† "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit"† "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle"† "The Finale"†
† Indicates two-part episode