Nature Care defies Kombucha ban

BAME PIET
Staff Writer | Wednesday August 24, 2011 00:00

Despite the two-months-old MoH ban, the drink, being peddled under the name Kombucha, continues to be sold to the unsuspecting public. In a letter written to Nature Care, the distributors of the drink, the Director of Health Services at the MoH stated that they made the following observations about the product: 'that it is an alcoholic (ethanol 2.2 percent) whereas the label indicates that it is non-alcoholic.  In addition, children are consuming this alcoholic drink; that the product contains up to 235 mg caffeine per 500 ml bottle (which is above the legal limit in the United States of America); that the product is violating the food law in many ways including - the Labeling of pre-packaged Foods Regulations'.

MoH also observed that some of its ingredients like caffeine are not declared on its list of ingredients. The product also has no clearly marked shelf life and the detoxifying claim stated on its label is unsubstantiated. Further, the label claims that the product is an energy drink with Vitamin B and C and amino acids but the energy content and any other nutrients are not declared on the label.  The MoH state that to claim that the drink was made of mushroom is wrong because it is in fact made of 'a symbiotic combination of bacteria and yeast. The actual names of natural herbs added are not declared on the label and the direction for use sounds like a dosage for medical prescription'.

'The product is therefore considered unsafe for human consumption as a non-alcoholic energy drink and is a potential health hazard. While further investigations are on-going, you are advised to suspend production, distribution and sale of this product,' instructed the MoH letter to Nature Care on June 15, 2011.

However, the director of Nature Care, Sally Pillar, said that she has responded to the MoH correspondence and is willing to improve her product. She challenged the reliability of MoH laboratory tests saying that more than 10,000 customers are happy with the drink and have given her positive feedback. She said that the drink is made of Green Tea and wondered if the same tea in Chinese shops will also be removed from the shelves. 'We are ready to make an improvement but not to stop production,' she said. She added that she intends to take the product to the international market.

Pillar argued that coffee, tea and other products contain caffeine, and wondered whether such products would also be removed from the market. She said that her company is negotiating with the MoH and wondered why the correspondence reached our office.  She declined to discuss the matter further.