'Booch brewers fear sugar tax

It's unclear if PST will apply to kombucha, lauded for its health properties

 By RUI YANG XU

Dan Larsen believes in the health benefits of kombucha but worries that new government categorization of certain drinks is going to affect customers.

The government will implement a seven per cent sales tax July 1 on sweetened carbonated beverages. The goal is to encourage consumers to consider healthier alternatives, however it remains unclear whether beverages with purported health benefits like kombucha will fall under the categorization.

“It’s an insult to the industry,” said Larsen, owner of Vancouver-based Culture Craft Kombucha. “Our efforts are being negated by the government and aren’t being recognized.”

Larsen said kombucha is a tea beverage fermented with a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, also known as a SCOBY or mother.

’Booch Kombucha, said anywhere from a quarter to half a cup of sugar is used in the fermentation process. The end result is that the sugar effectively becomes healthy amino acids, trace vitamins and minerals.

There are also other health benefits to the drink, Zerbin said.

“Kombucha adds beneficial bacteria and enzymes to your overall intestinal flora.”

While there are many purported health benefits to kombucha, Tanya Choy, a registered dietitian at UBC, said there is no scientific evidence supporting these claims.

“All the studies that are relating to kombucha and improved health has been conducted in vitro [test-tube experiments] and it’s also on [nonhuman] animals.” the brewer or flavor. Choy said while most of the sugar used in the fermentation process becomes something else, some kombucha brewers still sweeten drinks to counteract the acidity of the beverage.

“Some flavors contain enough sugar to make up for half a can of pop per cup,” Choy said.

Two brands sold on the Langara campus, Pure+ Kombucha and KeVita, range from six to 14 grams of sugar per 450 to 500 millilitre bottle. A 473 millilitre bottle of Fanta contains 49 grams of sugar.

If the seven per cent tax is applied kombucha sales, Larsen believes consumers will be the most upset.

Sugar In Beverages

COMPARING 500ML DRINKS

»

The pineapple peach flavour has 14 grams of sugar.This amount of sugar is equivalent to 3.5 regular size sugar cubes.

» Dr. Pepper

This soft drink contains about 47 grams of sugar. This is equivalent to 12 sugar cubes.

» Fanta brewer,

The amount of sugar in a kombucha drink can vary depending on

“As a producer, I’m still going to get orders, people are still going to sell kombucha. This is something people value as part of their diet now.”

The orange flavour has 49 grams of sugar in a bottle. This amount is equivalent to 12.5 sugar cubes.

SOURCE: BRAND NUTRITION FACTS