Healthy Notes » Kombucha http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog Helpful Hints For Living Well Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:43:52 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 Kombucha Update #3 http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/08/kombucha-update-3/ http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/08/kombucha-update-3/#comments Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:43:28 +0000 admin http://www.guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/?p=548 One brand of FDA compliable Kombucha is now available to retailers. The brand that is currently available is High Country Kombucha out of Eagle Colorado. The High Country people are very lucky to have beet the others to the punch. I am still awaiting word on the GT products. The last I heard they are a couple weeks away from being compliant. The GT brand is by far the most popular brand of Kombucha and the one everybody is waiting for to return to the shelves. I will keep you posted.

]]> http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/08/kombucha-update-3/feed/ 1 Kombucha Update #2 http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/07/kombucha-update-2/ http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/07/kombucha-update-2/#comments Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:49:01 +0000 admin http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/?p=475 The government is requiring all Kombucha sold in the United States to comply with alcohol labeling standards before distribution can proceed. The major producer of Kombucha in the United States is Millennium Products. They produce the well known GT’S brand.

Here is a portion of an update letter that was just released to retailers:

We are in the process of establishing label compliance for all our products currently in distribution and will be releasing an update soon. In addition, we plan to release a new production of 100% compliant product over the next few weeks.

This is the government labeling that will be added to Kombucha labels:

GOVERNMENT WARNING: (1) According to the Surgeon general, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects. (2) Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems.

It seems that this labeling issue will be resolved in the next few weeks. I hope so!

]]> http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/07/kombucha-update-2/feed/ 1 Kombucha Update http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/06/kombucha-update/ http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/06/kombucha-update/#comments Fri, 25 Jun 2010 20:33:24 +0000 admin http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/?p=455 Some retailers have decided to continue selling kombucha while the various manufactures attempt to satisfy the FDA over the alcohol content of the products. My understanding is that many of the national distributors will not be resupplying with new stock until they receive affidavits from the manufacturers stating that the alcohol content is in the tea is less than .5%. For now it is possible to purchase kombucha, but it is unclear how long the current stock will last. If they do not get the paperwork in order before the current stock for the distributors runs out then there is a very good probability that you will not be able to find kombucha very soon. If you are a regular kombucha drinker than you may want to stock up on it now, before it is to late.

]]> http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/06/kombucha-update/feed/ 5 Kombucha Tea Pulled http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/06/kombucha/ http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/06/kombucha/#comments Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:04:17 +0000 admin http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/?p=446 Kombucha has just been pulled off the shelves by most of the major distributors in the United States, because of concerns some concerns over the miniscule amount of alcohol that is in kombucha due to the fermentation process from which it is produced. I have always been aware that kombucha had a little alcohol I it, but have never heard of anyone getting drunk or even a small buzz from drinking it, nor have I ever seen kids or teen agers buying kombucha.

I personally am not a big kombucha drinker, but I know many people that drink it everyday and are going to be very upset over this situation. The government wants to control the supplement industry so the Food and Drug Administration have put pressure on wholesale distributors and large retailers.

This is the notice that is currently on the shelves where kombucha used to be in a Whole Foods market by my house,” Key suppliers and Whole Foods Market have elected to voluntarily withdraw Kombucha products in bottles and on tap from our stores at this time due to labeling concerns related to slightly elevated alcohol levels in some products.  This is not a quality issue. Sorry for any inconvenience.”

The following is a letter that is paraphrased from a major health food distributor to the retail stores that they service:

“Effective immediately and until further notice all sales of unpasteurized ready to drink kombucha products, regardless of brand, have been suspended from distribution. In order for distribution to commence on a supplier by supplier basis each supplier must accomplish the following two requirements:

1. Certify in writing by an authorized company officer that the supplier’s unpasteurized ready to drink kombucha has been taken from an applicable distribution center and been subjected to alcohol content testing within the past 30 days and all such tested samples show less than .5% alcohol content by volume.

2. An authorized company officer must execute a specific indemnification agreement related to this issue.

At this time we will not be picking up affected product and we advise our customers to remove from sale until such time as the above requirements are met. Please understand these measures taken are designed to protect you and your customers and we appreciate your support while we all work through this issue.”

The manufactures of kombucha need to be able to prove and document that the drinks do not exceed .5% alcohol. I would assume that the major companies like GTS would have the resources to get this handled quickly. I hope this is just minor inconvenience for those of you who love kombucha.

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