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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 i ...
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 ...
with the
bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
strain ''
Lacticaseibacillus 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. 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 corporation ...
, based in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
. 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 High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enz ...
, 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, using ...
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 recommended ...
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 Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
,
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 linin ...
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 natu ...
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 Human feces, stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the bo ...
and might help maintain a healthy population of
gut flora Gut microbiota, gut microbiome, or gut flora, are the microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses that live in the digestive tracts of animals. The gastrointestinal metagenome is the aggregate of all the genomes of the gut mi ...
. 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 The common cold or the cold is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract that primarily affects the respiratory mucosa of the nose, throat, sinuses, and larynx. Signs and symptoms may appear fewer than two days after exposu ...
), 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 bac ...
, 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 corporation ...
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 bac ...
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 corporation ...
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 São Bernardo do Campo () is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 844,483 (2020 est.) in an area of . History The city was founded b ...
,
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 produ ...
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 corporation, 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 t ...
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 ''To All the Boys I've Loved Before'' is a 2014 young adult fiction, young adult romance novel by American author Jenny Han, first published by Simon & Schuster and released on April 15, 2014. Han was inspired to write the book based on her own ...
'' 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'', ''Lactococcu ...
*
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