KAMBUCHA: WONDER DRINK OR ILLICIT BREW?

THE Masvingo City Council recently banned consumption of an increasingly popular local beverage — Kambucha — by its workers after the local authority’s medical doctor reportedly advised the drink contains alcohol.

A memorandum to its employees dated September 21, 2023 reads: “It has come to our attention that some council employees come to work while drunk due to the consumption of alcohol and other intoxicating substances.

“It has also been noted that some employees are seen consuming Kambucha drink during working hours in the guise that it is medicinal. We are reliably and authoritatively advised by the council’s medical doctor that the drink contains alcohol.

“It is advised that the consumption of Kambucha drink during working hours be banned with immediate effect.”

In recent months, there have been growing concerns over the beverage, amid allegations it contains alcohol.

Produced by Fresh Kambucha Zimbabwe, the product is advertised as “a health drink made from natural ingredients such as lemon, garlic, black pepper and ginger”.

Among the supposed medical benefits that come with consuming the drink is aiding digestion, cleansing of the male reproductive system, boosting the immune system and treating back pain.

But the claims are not scientifically proven.

Although the company’s website indicates that it also has a product called Fresh Kambucha Lite, which contains 8,06 percent alcohol, it is yet to hit the streets.

Kambucha is currently packaged in three varieties — the Kambucha Lemon Drink, the Fresh Kambucha (labelled Number 3) Drink and the Manyuchi Power Drink.

Investigations conducted by The Sunday Mail Society reveal that, of the three varieties, the Fresh Kambucha Drink is widely believed to be laced with alcohol.

Disguised

Mollen Mapanga, a vendor who sells the product at Simon Muzenda Bus Terminus, also believes as much.

“This is clearly an alcoholic drink. I sell it mostly to touts and commuter omnibus drivers who prefer to work while intoxicated. We can place a bet; if you drink three of these and not get drunk, I will give you US$10,”said Mapanga.

A disgruntled customer, Silas Goredema, did not hide his disgust after drinking the Number 3 variety.

“This drink is intoxicating. The bad part is that there is no indication of alcohol on it. This is a bad practice,” Goredema complained on the Fresh Kambucha Zimbabwe website.

Ingredients that are listed on the 450ml Fresh Kambucha Drink are honey, tea leaves, sugar, ginger concentrate, black pepper and water.

It does not indicate that it contains alcohol.

According to local regulations, the packaging of alcoholic beverages should be clearly distinct from soft drinks, water and other non-alcoholic beverages.

The packaging is also expected to be clearly labelled and carry a warning notice and health advisory statements.

Laws that apply to all alcoholic beverages sold or manufactured for sale in Zimbabwe include the Liquor Act (Chapter 14:12), the Traditional Beer Act (Chapter 14:24), the Road Traffic Act (BAC), the Shop Licences Act, the Finance Act (Zimra Licences and Approval), the Child Protection Act and the Food and Food Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations 2001 (Statutory Instrument 25 of 2001).

Kambucha, which is not available in big supermarkets, is mostly sold by street vendors and stocked in small retail outlets (tuckshops).

The Sunday Mail Society visited the company’s premises in Graniteside, Harare, where a staff member, who introduced himself as Innocent, claiming to be the legal officer, referred us to the director-general, who could be not be reached for comment by the time of going to print.

Fears/Imitation

But there are also reports of companies that are imitating Kambucha drinks and selling their products, which contain alcohol, to an unsuspecting market.

“A research that we did revealed that there are at least 23 companies that are illegally producing Kambucha. The companies are not registered and their products are not certified and standardised,” said Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers president Denford Mutashu.

“This probably explains why their products are not found in supermarket shelves and are distributed through illegal channels.”

The drink costs as low as US$1 or less for a 450ml bottle. Apart from Kambucha, illicit brewers are also pushing other unregulated brands like Kombucha and Kumbucha, which are mainly smuggled from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and South Africa.

Kombucha is branded as a Zambian product and is reportedly made from fermenting tea, sugar, bacteria and yeast.

It is advertised as a drink that is made out of “prebiotics, dietary fibres that nourish good bacteria to create different flavours”.

However, the product is said to contain 0,5 percent alcohol.

Regularisation

Fresh Kambucha Zimbabwe previously claimed the company is in the process of regulating and standardising its products.

The firm described Kambucha as a “fermented beverage”, and not an alcoholic drink.

However, repeated efforts to get finer details from the company were fruitless last week.

The Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) has been warning individuals and companies involved in marketing illegal herbs and medicines using social media platforms.

According to the MCAZ, perpetrators face jail as the practice is against the Medicines and Allied Substances Control Act, which prohibits the advertising of medicines on social media platforms and any other public forums.

Elsewhere

In Zambia, the company that produces Kombucha came under heavy criticism after a local media outlet reported that an independent laboratory analysis found the drink to have alcoholic content as high as 8,0 percent.

This is despite labels on bottles of the product displaying that it has less than 0,005 percent alcohol content.

The company, however, said the higher alcoholic content detected after testing may have been a result of“continuation of the fermentation process of the product after production due to varying storage conditions”.

In Malawi, a top publication reported that it took the samples of Kombucha to the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences laboratory in Blantyre for independent testing and analysis.

It is reported that, after the samples were tested, Health Kumbucha had 7,35 percent alcohol, while Kombucha Ginger had 5,09 percent.

The results also revealed that Kombucha Divine imported from Zambia had 8,02 percent alcohol.

Legal issues

Some social media bloggers were, at one point, dragged to court by Kambucha Fresh Zimbabwe for posting on Facebook and Instagram the alleged unsanitary conditions under which the popular beverage was processed and manufactured.

The company argued that the posts were defamatory and fabricated.

The social media platform was accused of using images from unregulated operators to damage the company’s reputation.

Last week, police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said they were still waiting for a response from MCAZ with regard to contents of Kambucha.