Nutrition Facts or Fiction: Should Consumers Trust Kombucha Labels?
As with all foods, kombucha brewers are legally required to include nutritional information on their bottles and cans . The labels allow us to see the amount of calories and sugar in each brand. Fermented beverages like kefir and kombucha will often mention “gut health” or probiotic content. At the recent Stanford University Fermented Food Conference I spoke with two scientists about the accuracy, and even legality, of these claims. When “Added Sugar” disclosures don’t add up Breanna Metras has studied the nutrient quality and microbial contents of commercially fermented beverages in the United States. Sugar-sweetened beverages are the leading source of added sugar in the American diet, contributing to health problems such as metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Fermented beverages such as kombucha, kefir, and probiotic sodas are marketed as healthier alternatives. However, despite the increasing populatory of these fermented drinks, it’s not known how many of these fermented beverages contain significant amount of added sugar, potentially aligning them with the traditional cola’s and other sugar (or high fructose corn syrup) sweetened beverages. Breanna is currently conducting a comprehensive analysis of 735 commercially available fermented beverages available across the USA, including 423 brands of kombucha, 157 kefir, 120 probiotic sodas, 22 water kefir, and 13 tepache. These beverages were assessed for the amount of sodium, total carbohydrates, total sugars, and added sugars on a per serving basis. Products were also assessed for health claims and stated microbial ingredients. We found that most products were generally healthy in terms of amount of sodium compared to the recommended, the dietary recommendations for Americans, but that the total amount of carbohydrates and added sugars was not consistent, both in the kombucha category, as well as the fermented beverages as a whole. So it begs the question, are these products being analyzed accurately in terms of added sugar content, and do we need to give more attention to them in terms of labeling them as a healthy beverage or a sugar-sweetened beverage. Source: Breanna Metras Stanford Conference Poster. Used with permission. Truth in advertising Breanna’s research had previously focused on kefir. Her doctoral dissertation compared the microbial content of commercially available and home-made kefirs. She highlighted the misleading information and health claims on some brands of kefir. rRNA sequencing revealed significant microbial labeling inaccuracies and culturing techniques demonstrated there were fewer live microorganisms present at the time of opening than what the labels claimed. She co-authored a 2021 paper that assessed the label accuracy commercial of kefir products in terms of microbial composition and density. Our results demonstrate a moderate level of labeling accuracy for commercial kefir products intended for human consumption. Regulatory agencies and consumers must continue to scrutinize these products and demand a higher level of accuracy and quality. When her current research is published, it will be interesting to see what her findings are in terms of claims made by the 423 brands of kombucha. In her opinion, more conservative regulatory oversight is needed on claims that products may improve health and on the accuracy of added sugar disclosures. To find out more, I sought out one of the world’s leading experts on this topic. Government standards Professor Paul Cotter is the Head of Food Biosciences at Teagasc (the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority). He is a microbiologist with a focus on fermented foods. He co-authored a 2021 paper on fermented foods that outlines the scientific requirements that must be met for a beverage to be legitimately able to claim it is ‘probiotic’ or ‘gut friendly’ on the label. The paper makes clear that the science, and legal requirements, are often at odds with marketing claims. Fermented foods and beverages are s