is a Japanese sweetened
probiotic
Probiotics are live microorganisms promoted with claims that they provide health benefits when consumed, generally by improving or restoring the gut microbiota. Probiotics are considered generally safe to consume, but may cause bacteria- host ...
milk beverage
fermented
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...
with the
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometr ...
strain ''
Lacticaseibacillus casei'' Shirota. It is sold by
Yakult Honsha
Yakult Honsha is a Japanese company founded in 1955 to sell its flagship product, Yakult—a beverage made using industrial lactic milk, a bacterial strain discovered by Minoru Shirota in the 1920s. Yakult Honsha is a multinational corporatio ...
, based in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
. It is distributed through convenience stores and supermarkets in single-serving containers of (depending on the manufacturer)
or , often in single-row packs of five or ten.
Ingredients
Yakult ingredients are water, skimmed milk,
glucose-fructose syrup, sucrose, and live ''
Lactobacillus casei
''Lacticaseibacillus casei ''is an organism that belongs to the largest genus in the family ''Lactobacillaceae'', a lactic acid bacteria (LAB), that was previously classified as ''Lactobacillus casei-01''. This bacteria has been identified as facu ...
Shirota'' bacteria.
[ The strain was originally classified as being ''Lactobacillus casei'' but in 2008 it was reclassified as belonging to '']L. paracasei
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
''.[
Yakult is prepared by adding ]glucose
Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, u ...
to skimmed milk
Skimmed milk (British English), or skim milk (American English), is made when all the milkfat is removed from whole milk. It tends to contain around 0.1% fat.
Background
Historically, skimmed milk was used for fattening pigs, and was recommende ...
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
The gums or gingiva (plural: ''gingivae'') consist of the mucosal tissue that lies over the mandible and maxilla inside the mouth. Gum health and disease can have an effect on general health.
Structure
The gums are part of the soft tissue lin ...
and lactic acid
Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has a molecular formula . It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as well as nat ...
are added.
Health claims
In 2006, a panel appointed by the Netherlands Nutrition Center (''Voedingscentrum'') to evaluate a marketing request by Yakult found sufficient evidence to justify claims that drinking at least one bottle of Yakult per day might help improve bowel movements
Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion, and is a necessary process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus. The act has a variety of names ranging f ...
for people who tend to be constipated
Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the bowel moveme ...
and might help maintain a healthy population of gut flora.
In 2010, a European Food Safety Authority
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) that provides independent scientific advice and communicates on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain. EFSA was established in February 2002, ...
(EFSA) panel denied a request by the company to market Yakult as defending the upper respiratory tract against pathogens (in other words, protection against diseases like the common cold), finding the claim not supported by the evidence.[ Lay summary: ]
In 2013, the UK Advertising Standards Authority disallowed an advertisement for Yakult in response to a complaint. It found that while there was sufficient evidence for the claim that "significant numbers of viable actobacillussurvived transit to the gut fter consumption of Yakult, the advertisement had made claims of general health benefits without providing a specific, referenced claim, as required.
Marketing history
Yakult was invented in 1935 in Japan by Minoru Shirota
was a Japanese microbiologist. In the 1930
Shirota identified a strain of lactic acid bacteria that is part of normal gut flora that he originally called ''Lactobacillus casei Shirota,'' which appeared to help contain the growth of harmful b ...
, who helped to found Yakult Honsha
Yakult Honsha is a Japanese company founded in 1955 to sell its flagship product, Yakult—a beverage made using industrial lactic milk, a bacterial strain discovered by Minoru Shirota in the 1920s. Yakult Honsha is a multinational corporatio ...
in order to commercialize it. Although Yakult is sold in Japan in supermarkets and convenience stores it is also sold door-to-door in Asia and in Latin America by women traditionally known as Yakult Ladies.
History
*In 1930, Scientist Minoru Shirota
was a Japanese microbiologist. In the 1930
Shirota identified a strain of lactic acid bacteria that is part of normal gut flora that he originally called ''Lactobacillus casei Shirota,'' which appeared to help contain the growth of harmful b ...
strengthened and cultured the Lactobacillus casei shirota strain
*In 1935, Yakult started being made in Japan.
*In 1955, Yakult Honsha
Yakult Honsha is a Japanese company founded in 1955 to sell its flagship product, Yakult—a beverage made using industrial lactic milk, a bacterial strain discovered by Minoru Shirota in the 1920s. Yakult Honsha is a multinational corporatio ...
was founded.
*In 1963, Yakult began a home delivery service, using 'Yakult lady' employees.
*In 1964, Yakult began selling in other countries, beginning with Taiwan.
*In 1968, Yakult opens its first factory outside Japan in the city of São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
*In 1969, the Hong Kong Yakult Co Ltd was founded.
*In 1969, Korea Yakult
hy Co., Ltd (), formerly known as Korea Yakult (), is a South Korean food company based in Seocho-gu, Seoul. It is one of the largest food companies in South Korea and produces beverages (including '' sikhye'' and ''sujeonggwa'') and dairy prod ...
was founded in South Korea.
*In 1994, Yakult started being sold in Australia, Great Britain, and the United States.
Relationship with Danone
In February 2018, it was reported that Danone
Danone S.A. () is a French multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock market index. Some of the company's products are ...
planned to sell US$1.9 billion of its Yakult investment, reducing its stake from 21% to 7%. The plan was followed by a decline in Yakult's share value. Danone had first bought shares in Yakult in April 2000. The sale was completed in March 2018.
In mass media
In September 2018, it was reported that the appearance of unlabelled Yakult bottles in the 2018 film '' To All the Boys I've Loved Before'' led to a rise in the drink's sales that coincided with a 2.8% increase in share price following the film's release on 17 August.
See also
* Actimel
Actimel (known as DanActive in the United States and Canada) is a probiotic yogurt-type drink produced by the French company Danone.
Actimel earned over €1.4 billion (US$1.8 billion) in retail sales in 2006.
History
Actimel was invented in ...
* Calpis
Calpis ((カルピス, Karupisu))/Milkis ((밀키스, Milkiseu)) is a Japanese uncarbonated soft drink, manufactured by , a subsidiary of Asahi Breweries headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo.
The beverage has a light, somewhat milky, and slightl ...
* Fermented milk products
Fermented milk products or fermented dairy products, also known as cultured dairy foods, cultured dairy products, or cultured milk products, are dairy foods that have been fermented with lactic acid bacteria such as ''Lactobacillus'', ''Lactococc ...
* List of fermented foods
This is a list of fermented foods, which are foods produced or preserved by the action of microorganisms. In this context, fermentation typically refers to the fermentation of sugar to alcohol using yeast, but other fermentation processes involv ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Fermented dairy products
Japanese brands
Japanese drinks