Know your ’booch: There are several types of kombucha products, explains Michael Bush, president and CEO of probiotic maker Ganeden:.This latest suit’s now before the California Superior Court, but if you’re looking for healthy kombucha now, try these tips: Spore-forming probiotics are controversial: Some health experts say they’re fine others warn that the bacteria can be difficult to get out of your microbiome if they don’t agree with you and that we’re best off not ingesting them until more is known. The spores then populate our intestines with the probiotics. The probiotic makers advertise these as shelf-stable and able to remain alive through the manufacturing process and the subsequent trip through our digestive process in the low-pH of stomach acid. What the suit does not note is that pasteurized kombuchas, like KeVita, and some raw kombuchas like GT’s, also add probiotics that are spore-forming - such as Bacillus coagulans GBI-30 6086. The civil-fraud suit claims, however, that “the bacteria killed during the pasteurization process includes, among others, the very probiotics touted on the KeVita website for which consumers chose to purchase” this brew. Pasteurization improves shelf-stability and allows for a longer sell-by date.Ī KeVita spokesperson told industry newsletter BevNET that although pasteurizing destroys the naturally produced raw probiotics, live bacteria are added afterward - a now-common, if not advertised, practice with some commercial kombuchas. PepsiCo’s KeVita Master Brew Kombucha is charged with deceiving consumers that it is a “raw product” containing “live probiotics.” KeVita currently pasteurizes its tea. Pasteurization: This is the latest concern raised over the marketing of kombucha health perks. Instead, they list simply “kombucha” as the key ingredient, along with flavoring fruit juices - all of which contain various natural sugars. Still, GT’s and others do not include sugar among their ingredients. GT’s and others have since relabeled their products. While most of the tested kombuchas listed 2 to 3 grams of sugar, all were found to have 6.7 to 13 grams - up to 3 teaspoons - in an 8-ounce serving. A 2016 study of 88 brews from eight makers discovered that the majority of kombuchas tested had more sugar than listed: Some were more than 400 percent higher.
Such added sweeteners are common in kombuchas, it turns out. Further sugar may be added for flavoring to mask the taste of the original tea, to balance the vinegary flavor of fermentation, or simply to appeal to consumers’ taste buds. A small amount of sugar is needed to spur fermentation, but that sugar is eaten up during the process. Sugar Content: The 2017 suit also charged that GT’s contained more than the 2 grams of sugar per 8-ounce serving noted on the nutrition label. A class-action suit settled for $8.25 million in 2017 against GT’s Kombucha found the popular brand’s brew had up to 2.5 percent alcohol, similar to low-alcohol beers. Commercial kombuchas must have less than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume or they are considered an alcoholic beverage. Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). For example, you can make a claim on a product that isn’t fully true, but if no one looks into it and raises any questions, and if the FDA doesn’t get around to reviewing it, it could go unchecked for a long, long time.”Īlcohol Levels: Due to fermentation, kombucha contains traces of alcohol, so sale is regulated by the U.S. “There is a lot of wiggle room in labeling of food products. “With the growth in popularity of kombucha, it’s no surprise that there is increased scrutiny on what is actually true about these products,” explains Lake State Kombucha founder Drake Ellingboe of Minneapolis. Several recent lawsuits challenge the myriad health claims by producers, making it difficult to know if your favorite brew is truly good for you. Adapting the ages-old kombucha recipe to meet this rising consumer demand, however, has caused some hiccups. Worldwide, people are spending more than $600 million annually on the fizzy tea, and sales are expected to increase to $1.8 billion by 2020.
Once an obscure concoction, kombucha is now widely available - it’s easy to find in natural-food stores, big-box grocery chains such as Walmart, and even gas stations.
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