GT’s Kombucha Class Action Says Enlightened Line Contains Alcohol

Despite an earlier settlement, GT’s Enlightened Kombucha products are allegedly labeled and sold as non-alcoholic while containing well over the limit of alcohol to be classified as such.

Kombucha is a fermented type of black or green tea which is touted as having numerous health benefits. The yeast and healthy bacteria cultures in the drinks are said to be probiotic – meaning that they can provide benefits to gut health.

In 2017, a $8.25 million settlement was reached over claims that GT’s Classic Kombucha and GT’s Enlightened Kombucha products were misrepresented as being non-alcoholic.

As a result of the settlement, the companies agreed to make changes to their kombucha product labeling – including labeling their Classic Kombucha and Classic Synergy products as alcoholic. The new labels state in capitalized letters “CONTAINS ALCOHOL MUST BE 21 OR OLDER TO PURCHASE.”

However, according to a new class action lawsuit, these label changes failed to acknowledge the alcohol content found in the “Enlightened” line of GT’s Kombucha products.

Several plaintiffs claim that GT’s Enlightened Kombucha contains between 18 to 442 percent more alcohol than is legally allowed in non-alcoholic drinks.

The plaintiffs say GT’s Living Foods knowingly misrepresents their kombucha as non-alcoholic in order to provide a great market appeal and secure more sales.

The GT’s Enlightened line of kombucha products includes a variety of flavors such as: Original, Gingerade, Laveder Love, Hibiscus Ginger, Lemonade, Multi-Green, Bilberry Blessing, Cayennade, Tantric Turmeric, Heart Beet, Golden Sage, Cucumber Mint Lime, Karma Citra, Koffee, Strawberry Lemonade, Pomegranate Power, Rose Berry, Pink Lady Basil, Watermelon Wonder, Trilogy, Mystic Mango, Cosmic Cranberry, Guava Goddess, Gingerberry, Passionberry Bliss, Strawberry Serenity, Cherry Chia, Grape Chia, Raspberry Chia, and Black Chia.

“The purported distinction between the ‘Classic’ and ‘Enlightened’ lines is a sham designed to confuse the public and government regulators, as both lines of products contain alcohol levels far surpassing the legal limit for non-alcoholic beverages,” the GT’s Kombucha class action claims.

The plaintiffs also claim that GT’s Kombucha products are further misrepresented in terms of sugar content. According to the class action, the Enlightened kombucha products contain 15 percent more sugar than what is listed on their labels. These results were reportedly found through independent testing.

Due to the high levels of sugar, the GT’s Kombucha products are allegedly prone to continue fermentation even after the product is bottled. The plaintiffs claim that this “continued fermentation causes the Enlightened Kombucha line to cross the .5 percent alcohol by volume threshold set for non-alcoholic beverages.”

According to the GT’s Kombucha class action, the plaintiffs would not have purchased the products if they knew they were misrepresented. If they had purchased the products knowing about the misrepresentation, the plaintiffs would have allegedly paid significantly less for the kombucha products.

Have you purchased GT’s Enlightened Kombucha products? Let us know in the comment section below.

Plaintiffs and the proposed Class are represented by L. Timothy Fisher, Yeremey O. Krivoshey, and Scott A. Bursor of Bursor & Fisher PA, and Jeff Westerman and Ken Remson of Westerman Law Corp.

The GT’s Kombucha Class Action Lawsuit is Sharpe, et al. v. GT’s Living Foods LLC, Case No. 2:19-cv-10920-PA-SK, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Read More Lawsuit & Settlement News:

Brew Dr. Kombucha Class Action Says Drink Doesn’t Contain Billions of Probiotics

Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse File Over 700 Lawsuits in New York

O Organics Kombucha Class Action Says Alcohol Content Understated

Does Regions Bank Do FHA Loans?