Nutritional Value
Standard Yakult (excludes variations such as in Yakult Light) contains:
- Sugar (sucrose, dextrose) to balance sourness with sweetness.
- Skimmed milk powder
- Natural flavours
- Live Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain, 6.5 billion per 65 mL bottle (concentration of 108 CFU/mL)
- Water
Standard Yakult contains 18g of sugar for every 100g, but comes in 65 mL bottles. This concentration is higher than the level defined as “HIGH” by the UK Food Standards Agency (described for concentrations of sugar above 15g per 100g). As a comparison Coca-Cola and orange juice are in the range of 10g of sugar per 100g, but with a serving size usually greater than 250 ml, while Yakult is served in much smaller doses. Based on the existence of many products like Yakult in the world market and the content of milk protein (1.4 g per 100 mL), it was classified as a fermented milk named "Fermented Milk Drinks" of the Codex Standard. Through nutrient profiling guidelines, current health claim regulation in European Union may forbid the use of health claim on food products that are nutritionally unbalanced, but dairy products and probiotic drinks are likely to be considered as favorable carrier because their health benefits outweigh the fact they might be high in one of the designated 'unhealthy' ingredients.
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