In the Name of Allah, the Inspirer of Truth.
Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh Hazrat Mufti Saheb
Eidun Saeedun
Taqabbalallahu Minnaa Wa Minkum
Can you adviseon this product? I have attached product details too.
Fatwā
وعليكم السلام ورحمة الله وبركاته
بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم
هو الموفق
حامداً ومصلياً ومسلماً
Ref: 1439/177
Captain Kombucha is described as a drink made of fruits or teas, with addition of sugar in some cases and a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. Fermentation takes place naturally in many fruit drinks as they contain sugar. The Kombucha drink uses a culture called SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast). There are a number of bacterias and yeasts which make up SCOBY.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S09639969000006...
The yeast cells break down sugar (sucrose) into its two component parts: glucose and fructose. For example, in an average sized glass of orange juice (230ml) there is 22g of sugar. They then metabolise glucose and fructose to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide. Ethanol, is the intoxicant element of beer and wine.
I have discussed ‘in-situ impurities’ on p. 9 of my paper ‘The Effect of Contamination on the Purity of Water and Foods’
www.irtis.org.uk/images/Articles/The%20Effect%20of%20Cont...
Usually an orange juice will have 0.1% alcohol (by volume) but as the fermentation process is continuous after the fruit is picked and before it is processed it may be slightly higher. However the legislation in most countries is that 0.5% ABV is regarded as non-alcoholic because the body can metabolise that concentration of alcohol during consumption and as a result the alcohol will have no effect. However as Kombucha drinks are not pasteurised then the fermentation process will continue and potentially can increase significantly.
In conclusion, any Kombucha drink which has less than 0.5% ABV at the time of consumption, not at the time of purchase, will be permissible to consume; however anything above that level will not be permissible. For each drink one would have to contact the manufacturers as to how long after purchase can it be consumed and it’s % ABV remains below 0.5%.
والله أعلم بالصواب وعلمه أتم
Mufti Amjad M Mohammed
BSc(Hons) BMAIS PGCE PGDipRes PGCHEP FHEA MPhil NPQH |
