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".
