Environmental Public Health Journal 2021 | BCIT Institutional Repository

Environmental Public Health Journal 2021

Investigation of the awareness and effects of naturally changing compositional aspects in kombucha tea, due to natural fermentation processes
With the growing popularity of Kombucha, more people are beginning to either purchase or make their own Kombucha beverage. Due to the relatively recent rise in popularity, within the general public, not as much is known about the beverage compared to other beverages that have been on the market longer such as beer. This is important and relevant to public health because, due to the nature of the production method used to create Kombucha, the drink itself may contain alcohol. While at the time of production and distribution, the levels of alcohol are below the regulated maximum of 1%, these levels may increase on their own if measures were not put in place to stop the beverage from self-fermenting post-distribution. Kombucha is sold as a non-alcoholic beverage as they aren’t required to be defined as liquor (because it is <1% ethanol), when in reality, they may contain more than 1% ethanol due to the self-fermentation process. This poses as a potential health risks to people who do not consume alcohol for personal reasons or to adolescents who should not be consuming alcohol., kombucha, ethanol, fermentation, survey
Kombucha: determining the likelihood of secondary fermentation and increased ethanol content via stated sugar content on product labels
Kombucha products are now a common, and popular beverage. Increasingly, Kombucha beverages are outpacing popularity of other carbonated beverages on the market, such as soda pop. This increase is seen by many as a positive change of consumer interests, as Kombucha has much less sugar content than many soda pop alternatives. However, Kombucha products are fermented beverages, and therefore are apt to contain ethanol, which may be a hazard for certain at risk populations. This study aims to investigate how information provided on product labels may or may not allow for increased consumer control by making an educated guess about potential ethanol content., kombucha, product labels, secondary fermentation, functional beverage, temperature abuse