Some kombucha exceeds limit for alcohol: study

70% of B.C. producers have ‘problem’

A B.C. government study says almost a third of kombucha products recently tested contained more alcohol than the one per cent allowed under regulations.

And 70 per cent of those producing kombucha in B.C. have “a potential or definite problem” controlling the alcohol content in their products, according to the study by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

“People at greatest risk from low levels of alcohol consumption include young children, people who are pregnant and their developing babies, those with underlying medical conditions or those taking prescription medications that should not be mixed with alcohol,” study authors Lorraine McIntyre and Sung Sik Jang write in their executive summary.

And they say the elevated alcohol rates are also a problem for “those who wish to avoid all alcohol for personal or religious beliefs, those with occupational concerns such as drivers and those with alcohol-use disorder.”

Kombucha or kombucha tea is often sold as a healthfood beverage and an alternative to pop and other sugary drinks.

But the study notes that the drink can contain “residual alcohol from the multi-step fermentation process that converts sugar to alcohol.”

While more than half of the products tested had warning labels about possible alcohol content, the print on the labels was often very small and difficult to read, the study said.

The authors said the purpose of the study was to “determine if kombucha available for sale to the public in British Columbia contained levels of alcohol that could cause harm.”

“This is a concern because kombucha that is manufactured and sold as a non-alcoholic beverage is not restricted for purchase as are alcoholic beverages which are only available in liquor stores and other licensed establishments,” they wrote.

“Kombucha is not labelled nor well-known to consumers as potentially containing alcohol. In addition, when kombucha is sold as a raw, living and unpasteurized beverage there is concern that alcohol may increase over its shelf-life or as a result of temperature abuse.”

Forty-nine per cent of the samples were manufactured in B.C., while 32 per cent were imported from the U.S. The rest came from other provinces and Australia. The study found 31.5 per cent had more than one per cent alcohol.

A quarter of the samples had one-to-two per cent alcohol, while just over six per cent of the samples had an alcohol ratio above two per cent.