Kombucha Brewers International Publishes Best Practices for Kombucha Industry

Kombucha-Brewers-International-logo_squareLos Angeles, CA – July 27, 2015 ­ Kombucha Brewers International, the trade association for commercial Kombucha beverage producers worldwide, is pleased to announce the publication of Best Practices for commercial kombucha brewers everywhere.

With the astronomical growth of the kombucha industry worldwide, a more than fivefold increase between 2013 and 2014 alone, KBI’s newly published Best Practices are coming at a crucial moment. As the only membership organization committed to serving commercial Kombucha brewers worldwide, KBI is establishing quality standards and good manufacturing principles, not only to prevent potential “bad actors,” but also to protect consumers. As many new players continue to stream into the category, the Best Practices are a welcome roadmap for brewers of all levels. Adopted by the Board earlier this month, KBI’s Best Practices focus on four main areas: Business Practices, Safety and Quality, Alcohol Compliance, and Labeling. The entirety of KBI’s Best Practices guide may be viewed here: http://kombuchabrewers.org/resources/best­practices/

KBI is committed to establishing standards for the Kombucha industry by preparing members for successful interactions with inspectors at all levels. This includes proactively providing HACCP (Hazard and Critical Control Points) plans (not currently required for the kombucha industry), which, along with the newly adopted more accurate and precise alcohol testing protocols, are the foundation of a larger verification program KBI plans to roll out later this year.

“Safety is not only crucial for manufacturing a quality product but also for protecting consumers”, says Trevor Ross, KBI Board member and founder of Live Soda Kombucha. “Moreover, as transparency becomes the norm, truth in labeling is key for establishing trust and creating lasting consumer relationships.”

“Kombucha is a rapidly growing industry, so having standards in place to guide new [brewers] is key to protecting the industry as a whole,” according to Daina Trout, co­owner of Health­Ade Kombucha and one of the authors of the Best Practices. “Many newcomers are homebrewers with no background in manufacturing; our hope is that these guidelines will help others avoid potentially costly mistakes.”

Why Kombucha? Research has shown that tea has a wide range of health benefits due to the natural compounds present in the leaves. Fermenting the tea enhances those benefits by making it more bio­available and imbuing it with living probiotics (healthy bacteria). Regular drinkers of Kombucha enjoy the unique flavor experience and report improved digestion, increased energy, and an overall feeling of wellbeing.