Kombucha and Coconut Aminos

[kirbz]

So, I understand there was recently a rule change that says that coconut aminos are an exception to the "no added sugar" rule. The logic that was included in publication of the new rule said "So technically, all aminos are derived from a sugar source—but not all labels are clear about that. Which means that according to the current rules, some brands of aminos are out, while some are allowed, based solely on the way the companies chose to write the ingredients on the label."

My question is this: why wasn't kombucha also included as an exception to the "no sugar added" rule? Is the logic not the same exact thing for kombucha? Again from the Whole30 website, the logic said "ALL kombucha uses sugar in the fermentation process. But some brands are transparent about that, and others are not." 

So why only make an exception for coconut aminos and not for kombucha? Really, both use sugar in the process to make the product, but the final product doesn't really yield any added sugar for either, yet some companies list it and other do not... 

Thanks in advance for your support! I like things to make sense and this one has been niggling in my mind for a while... 

[ShannonM816]

The problem with kombucha is that some companies add sugar or other sweeteners after the first fermentation, when they're adding the flavor, and that sugar is not necessary for the process to make the product but is solely for the purpose of making the product sweeter. If they add it after the first fermentation, it will be listed on the ingredients -- but other companies who only use sugar for the first fermentation may also list sugar as an ingredient, and short of actually asking the company how exactly they're making their product, there's no way to know which is which.