The Healthy History of Laurel Farms® Kombucha Tea® in the USA

Laurel Farms® and the FDA

Before Laurel Farms® introduced the Kombucha to the United States in January of 1993, we carefully researched this ancient, fermented tea and found it to be completely safe for at-home brewing as long as the fermenting and storage containers were made of clear, unleaded glass, i.e. Pyrex® or Anchor-Hocking®. That meant absolutely no fermenting in "food grade" plastic, or any type of colored glass, including porcelain, earthenware, ceramic, or crystal.

Because of the phenomenal publicity generated by the Laurel Farms® Kombucha- you've seen us on everything from Dateline NBC to Maury Povich, and read about us in the NY Times, USA Today, People Magazine and many more - the FDA asked to meet with us so that they could learn more about this hugely-popular fermented tea. The FDA classifies the Kombucha as a a strictly-regulated food, not a loosely-regulated supplement, so they wanted to make sure that making Laurel Farms® Kombucha Tea® at home was completely safe.

The FDA met with us at our facility on several different occasions, carefully observing our growing, harvesting and shipping processes. They also reviewed all of our literature, grew our Kombuchas in their laboratory and both tested and consumed the Laurel Farms® Kombucha Tea® they made. Interestingly, they noted that the Laurel Farms® strain of Kombucha destroyed all of the dangerous bacteria, including botulism, that their scientists introduced to the fermenting tea. After exhaustive testing, they found the Laurel Farms® Kombucha to be completely safe to use for at-home brewing.

We are very proud of this accomplishment. To our knowledge, we are the only Kombucha grower to have passed these stringent tests.

The FDA continues to find Laurel Farms® Kombucha Tea® safe to make at home.

We hope you enjoy the many years of healthy and economical beverage-making that your Laurel Farms® Kombucha will bring to you, your family and friends.