Carpe Diem’s Kombucha

November 6th, 2006

And so begins the Carpe Diem saga. Most of the letter is self explanatory, but you should know the background. Firstly, I sent this email a long time ago and got no reply. Then I received a newsletter from CD (thanking me for subscribing to it – the cheek!) so I decided to get hardcore and ring up Carpe Diem. This meant discovering that Carpe Diem was founded by none other than Dietrich Mateschitz, who brought us Red Bull. So it comes as no surprise to find that although Carpe Diem is based in Austria, it is distributed through the UK by… …Red Bull! Now, Rachel Warren didn’t answer my email (and Carpe Diem only provide an Austrian no.), so I wonder if calling up the UK Red Bull office and asking for Rachel Warren will get me anywhere…

Dear Rachel Warren,
Thank you for taking my call, below is the email with the original questions regarding Carpe Diem’s Kombucha. For clarity, where I refer to the generic product I have written it as kombucha without capitalisation.
Kind Regards,
Frank Swain

Dear Carpe Diem,
Firstly, I thoroughly enjoyed your website, which is very impressive.

Secondly, while I don’t go out of my way to find companies selling fashionable drinks with supposed health-giving powers, I did stumble across your product Kombucha on display in my local Tesco.

On your website, drinking Kombucha promises nothing less than to stimulate metabolism, assist the digestive process and strengthen the immune system. In your words, Kombucha “has harmonising effects on the metabolism and intestinal activity” and “supports the body’s natural defence system”.

At first I was sceptical, but then I saw that you had linked a scientific paper to your website to support your claims. This is the Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Ganzheits Medizin (The Swiss Journal of Integrative Medicine). Having read the article, I have some questions regarding your product.

1) The article “Kombucha. Natural strength from the treasury of oriental experience” showed the nutrients available in kombucha tea. However, there was no evidence supporting the assumption that these nutrients would be absorbed into the body and return the desired effects. Do you have further scientific evidence to support your claims, and if so, could you please forward it to me as I would enjoy reading it.

2) Are you at all perturbed that that the journal that published this scientific evidence supporting your claims is not supported by PubMed, the established reference for all medical research?

3) However, there is a certified review of the health-giving properties of kombucha tea to be found on PubMed. The review, carried out by the Peninsula Medical School and the universities of Exeter and Plymouth, UK, concludes that:

“No clinical studies were found relating to the efficacy of this remedy. Several case reports and case series raise doubts about the safety of kombucha. They include suspected liver damage, metabolic acidosis and cutaneous anthrax infections. One fatality is on record”

concluding:

“On the basis of these data it was concluded that the largely undetermined benefits do not outweigh the documented risks of kombucha. It can therefore not be recommended for therapeutic use.”.

This leads me to ask: do you think it is unreasonable to link favourable, uncertified research to your site while ignoring critical, peer-reviewed, research?

4) Do you think it undermines the authority of Carpe Diem to endorse research published in a journal that also suggests AIDS is not the result of the HIV virus but of “continuous excessive stressing of the body”?

5) Is Kombucha safe to drink?

I look forward to hearing from you soon, so that I set my mind at rest and finally try some of your Kombucha.

Yours sincerely,
Frank Swain.

I swear, sometimes this is too much fun. On the phone, Rachel was very nice and I didn’t even manage to get past question #1 before she was promising me that there was “lots” of research to back up their claims, only it was in Austria (naturally). She asked for the email and promised she would get the evidence for me. A week later and Rachel still hasn’t replied. She doesn’t answer the phone much, but the receptionist put me onto “the other” Rachel, who also doesn’t answer the phone much. Is this some kind of diversionary tactic? Eventually I get hold of Rachel #1, who suggests that my questions are too complex for a mere brand manager to deal with, and insists top Austrian scientists are working on my queries. I suggest she can answer question four. Rachel declines to comment. Question three? Rachel’s not responsible for web content. I comment that the ‘scientific’ report was published mere months after Kombucha was launched in half a dozen countries. Was it commissioned by Carpe Diem? Rachel couldn’t say. Will Rachel ever get that evidence? Well, after waiting for a week, Rachel’s research had failed to materialise. Thus, the following email was sent.

Dear Rachel Warren,
Firstly, apologies for the tardiness of this email. I have been meaning to remind you that your reply is due, but have been extremely busy, what with publication of issue one. However, Weak Reception has fortunately decided to carry the Carpe Diem storyline across two issues.
Further to our previous conversation, is there any news from the Austrian scientists on the efficacy of Kombucha? You suggested it may take some time to acquire, however, I realised that if there was further evidence to back up Carpe Diem’s claims, the company would waste no time in advertising this fact on their website. Perhaps you could explain why this further evidence you alluded to is not referenced on the website or in the promotional material? Is it kept hidden for some reason?

I asked you whether you were perturbed that the kombucha review by Dr Stefan Becker had appeared in ‘the Swiss Journal of Holistic Medicine’, a journal that is not supported by PubMed. I have since discovered that the ‘the Swiss Journal of Holistic Medicine’ is published by none other than “Dr Stefan Becker, Media Consulting”. This leads me to ask: do you think there may be a conflict of interest here?

I’ve already established through other sources that Carpe Diem proactively sought out scientists to promote their product, and whilst I realise that the exact amount is confidential, could you give me a rough estimate of what it costs to buy a scientist these days?

Your answers are very much appreciated.
Kind Regards
Frank Swain

Alas, no reply.
However, you should know that the dangers of cutaneous anthrax and other poisoning described by the Peninsula Medical School and Universities of Exeter and Plymouth refer to home-brewed kombucha tea. Carpe Diem, like all good manufacturers, brew kombucha in sterile conditions. Eagle-eyed readers will have spotted that in reference to this study, I only asked CD if they found it unreasonable to selectively link studies to their site. I admit it, I was baiting them to get a reply. I honestly expected CD to reject any hint that their product might be contaminated. I was wrong.

My criticism of the Stefan Becker ‘review’ still stands. It describes the nutrients in kombucha tea and the effect these nutrients have on the body. However, it fundamentally fails to show that the body will absorb these nutrients through drinking kombucha, and return the desired effects. That’s a very important step. On the subject of Stefan Becker: creating your own journal and publishing articles in that journal doesn’t necessarily mean a conflict of interest, because of the system of peer review. However, those submitting articles to “The Swiss Journal of Integrative Medicine” can chose to be published in the peer-review section or not. Can the checks and balances be conveniently avoided if you need to publish some ‘scientific’ material without anyone looking too closely? Perhaps – but I’m going to have a chat with Dr Becker in time for issue 3.

I’ve given Carpe Diem a fair chance to give their side of the story, but for some reason they refuse to engage – could this be because they are vendors of quack remedies with no scientific basis? I think, yes. Yes they are.

Result: Not only have Carpe Diem failed to defend their product, they’ve led me to more bad science stories…

Entry Filed under: The Letters

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