A drink marketed as a health tonic to boost the immunity of people of all ages, including children, has been pulled from shelves over alcohol fears.
Produced by family business Mama Nayture, a batch of Drink Purple has been affected by unintended fermentation.
“Food products containing excess alcohol and carbonation may cause illness/injury if consumed,” the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand recall reads.
Sign up to The Nightly’s newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.
“Consumers should not drink or open this product, and should dispose of it safely. Please contact Mama Nayture for safe disposal instructions and reimbursement. Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice.”
On its website the company promotes the fact that the product is made in small batches with wild-harvested elderberries, local raw honey, and gentle herbs like ginger, echinacea, cinnamon and cloves.
“Ingredients you can recognise and trust. No weird stuff. No Googling required. Made for the whole family, big and little immune systems alike.”
The drink was being sold in health stores in NSW and QLD and online nationally.
The recall affects two sizes of Drink Purple: the 60ml bottle with a date marking of EXP 30MAY27 and batch number B: 23716, and the 350ml bottle with a date marking of EXP 30MAY27 and batch number B: 23716.
Mama Nayture’s Drink Purple has been recalled. Credit: FSANZ
In a statement on the Mama Nayture website, founder Adriana Minova said the issue was caused by unintended fermentation after manufacturing.
“A small number of bottles were found to fizz when opened or develop a sour or fermented taste.”
No other batches had been affected.
“This was a single small batch supplied to a limited number of stockists and direct customers. We acted immediately when the issue was identified: every stockist and every known customer was contacted, remaining stock was removed from sale, and the relevant food authorities were notified. Of the batch, 114 bottles had reached customers, and replacement product or refunds are being provided.”
She went on, “As a small family business, this has been a confronting week for us, but the trust families place in our products matters more to us than anything. We chose to initiate this recall as soon as the issue was identified because our customers’ confidence and safety are our highest priorities.
“We are working closely with our manufacturer to understand exactly what happened and to ensure appropriate measures are implemented to prevent it from occurring again.”
