My whole foods stopped carrying kombucha because of "alcohol content" - Page 2

[mumkimum]

Dang! I was wondering about this when I noticed the whole kombucha area was, like, empty. We like to pick it up cause we just don't drink enough its always worth our time to make ourselves.

[memory maker]

I noticed that our local HFS started carrying a new brand. At our regular chain grocery store I got carded for buying it once

[velcromom]

Its a real bummer. Our local grocery had just started carrying Honest Tea's new kombucha line, too. They had some good flavors. I took our last bottle of GT's and started a baby scoby. It's so much cheaper to brew our own anyhow. I think I'll try using some jasmine tea since we like that variety from HT.

[Ruthla]

That's nuts!

Either it's a "food" and the alcohol content is below a certain%, or it's an "alcoholic beverage" and you can buy it if you're over 21 (a law I think is stupid anyway.) I don't see how they can just pull it off the shelves though?? Wouldn't they just relable it and sell it as an alcoholic beverage?

I'm guessing that liquor stores don't really have a market for kombucha, and many HFS don't have the liscence to sell beer? Someplace like Fairway Market may sell both (kombucha, kefir, etc, plus a variety of beers) but not too many stores are that diverse?

[AFWife]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

That's nuts!

Either it's a "food" and the alcohol content is below a certain%, or it's an "alcoholic beverage" and you can buy it if you're over 21 (a law I think is stupid anyway.) I don't see how they can just pull it off the shelves though?? Wouldn't they just relable it and sell it as an alcoholic beverage?

I'm guessing that liquor stores don't really have a market for kombucha, and many HFS don't have the liscence to sell beer? Someplace like Fairway Market may sell both (kombucha, kefir, etc, plus a variety of beers) but not too many stores are that diverse?

That's what' I was thinking...how alcoholic IS it? WF sells beer and wine...

[Amandala]

You know, I read online somewhere that Whole Foods employees were NOT SUPPOSED TO TELL PEOPLE WHY the Kombucha was pulled off the shelves - and in fact, when we asked at our local store, we were told "Some lady gave it to her baby and something happened to the baby."

WTF? Can you believe that? I wonder if that's what they were told to say or if one ignorant employee just came up with that off the top of her head.

Well, thank goodness I had been making my own at home before this happened, and if anyone (in the Essex County, NJ area) would like some, or would like to have their own SCOBY to make their own, just PM me! I'm making it all the time now!