[go: up one dir, main page]
Jump to content

Yakult

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mortee (talk | contribs) at 16:03, 8 September 2018 (partial expansion, incorporating more sources). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Yakult

Yakult (ヤクルト, Yakuruto) is a probiotic milk beverage fermented with the bacteria strain Lactobacillus paracasei Shirota, isolated from the human intestine by Japanese scientist Minoru Shirota in the 1930s and sold by Yakult Honsha.[1]

Ingredients

Yakult is sold in 65 mL containers. The ingredients are water, skimmed milk, glucose-fructose syrup, sucrose, citrus aroma, and live Lactobacillus paracasei Shirota bacteria.[2] The strain was originally classified as being Lactobacillus casei but in 2008 it was reclassified as belonging to L. paracasei.[2]

Yakult is prepared by adding glucose and glycine to skimmed milk, and heating the mixture at 90 to 95 °C for about 30 minutes. After letting it cool down to 45 °C, the mixture is inoculated with the lactobacillus and incubated for 6 to 7 days at 37 to 38 °C. After fermentation, water, sugar, gums and lactic acid are added.[3]

Health claims

Yakult has been advertised as promoting gut health by regulating gut flora and thereby helping to regularise bowel movements. These claims have been questioned.[4]

In 2006, a panel appointed by the Netherlands Nutrition Centre to evaluate a marketing request by Yakult found there to be sufficient evidence to justify claims that drinking at least one bottle of Yakult per day might help people who tend to be constipated have regular bowel movements, and might help maintain a healthy population of gut flora.[5]

In 2010, an EFSA panel denied a request by the company to market Yakult as maintaining upper respiratory tract defenses against pathogens, finding the claim not supported by the evidence.[2][6]

In 2013, the UK Advertising Standards Authority endorsed a complaint that a television advertisement for Yakult had made claims of general health benefits without providing a specific, referenced claim, as required, and the advert was not allowed to be repeated.[7]

Commercialisation

See also: Yakult Honsha

Yakult was first invented in the 1930s in Japan. In some countries, including Japan, India and Brazil, it is sold door-to-door. It was first sold in the Anglophone world in the 1990s, with Australia selling it first in 1994, the UK in 1996, and the US in 1999.[8][9]

In February 2018, it was reported that Danone planned to sell €1.5 billion of its Yakult investment, reducing its stake from 21% to 7%.[10][11] The plan was followed by a decline in Yakult's share value.[12] Danone had first bought shares in Yakult in April 2000.[12] The sale was completed in March 2018.[13]

In September 2018, it was reported that the appearance of unlabelled Yakult bottles in To All the Boys I've Loved Before led to a rise in the drink's sales that coincided with a 2.6% increase in share price following the film's release on 17 August.[14][15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Caramia, Giuseppe; Silvi, Stefania (2011). "Chapter 1: Probiotics: From the Ancient Wisdom to the Actual Therapeutical and Neutraceutical Perspective". In Malago, Joshua J.; Koninkx, Jos. F.J.G.; Marinsek-Logar, R. (eds.). Probiotic Bacteria and Enteric Infections Cytoprotection by Probiotic Bacteria. Dordrecht: Springer Science & Business Media. p. 6. ISBN 978-9-4007-0386-5.
  2. ^ a b c EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (October 2010). "Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of a health claim related to Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota and maintenance of the upper respiratory tract defence against pathogens by maintaining immune defences pursuant to Article 13(5) of Regulation (EC) N". EFSA Journal. 8 (10): 1860. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1860. Open access icon
  3. ^ "Milk and Dairy Products", Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (7th ed.), 2007, doi:10.1002/14356007.a16_589.pub3
  4. ^ Harris, S. E. (1 November 2003). "Behind the label: Yakult". The Times. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Assessment Report: Yakult". Netherlands Nutrition Centre. November 10, 2006.
  6. ^ Wallop, Harry (20 October 2010). "Probiotic drinks do not aid health, Europe says". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  7. ^ "ASA Adjudication on Yakult UK Ltd". Advertising Standards Authority. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  8. ^ Cocozza, Paula (5 September 2018). "The cult of Yakult: the surprising reason the world's gone wild for the probiotic drink". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  9. ^ "Is Probiotic Yakult Helpful In The Treatment Of Irritable Bowel Syndrome?". Science Daily. 12 September 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  10. ^ Kar-Gupta, Sudip; Vidalon, Dominique (14 February 2018). "Danone to sell $1.9 billion Yakult stake in quest to boost shareholder returns". Reuters. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Danone to Sell Stake in Japan's Yakult for $1.8 Billion". Bloomberg. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  12. ^ a b Gretler, Corinne (14 February 2018). "Yakult Declines After Danone's $1.8 Billion Share Sale Plan". Bloomberg. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  13. ^ "Danone completes 1.3bn euro sale of its 14% stake in Yakult". FoodBev Media. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  14. ^ Petter, Olivia (4 September 2018). "Yakult shares increase following release of Netflix's 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before'". The Independent. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  15. ^ Balji, Divya (3 September 2018). "Netflix Teen Comedy Helps Yakult Yogurt Drink Fly Off Shelves". BloombergQuint. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yakult.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yakult&oldid=858635024"