EM drinks, salt, soap and toothpaste: uses, ingredients and the legal framework

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Effective microorganisms aren't just for the garden and the housework. You'll also find them in fermented drinks, a sea salt, a soap and a toothpaste. These products are consumed or applied to the body, so they are subject to much stricter rules than cleaning products, particularly regarding what may be claimed about them.

Here is what these products are, how to use them, and why we describe them without ever attributing any health effect to them.

Fermented foods, a long tradition

Fermentation is one of the oldest preserving techniques. Yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, sourdough bread, kombucha: lactic acid bacteria and yeasts turn sugars into acids, gases and flavours. The pH drops, which protects the food, and the taste becomes tangy. EM drinks belong to this tradition: they are fermented products with a flavour all of their own.

EM Drink and Aronia Fizz: fermented aronia drinks

EM Drink with aronia is a fermented drink made in the Netherlands. According to its product sheet, it contains purified water, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, organic aronia juice (6%), natural blackcurrant flavouring, wheat bran extract and sugar, almost all of which is converted during fermentation. Per 100 ml, it provides around 16 kcal, 0.38 g of sugars and 630 mg of lactic acid.

• Taste: fresh, tangy, lightly fruity.
• Use: neat in small 25 ml servings, or diluted like a cordial, roughly one part to five parts water.
• Storage: keep chilled once opened; the vacuum bag-in-box limits contact with air.
• Allergies: it contains wheat bran extract. Check the label if you are allergic to wheat.

EM Drink Aronia Fizz is the sparkling, ready-to-drink version, in a 250 ml can. It contains live cultures and is best enjoyed well chilled, as an alternative to fizzy drinks.

Aronia is a small black berry with a slightly astringent taste, which gives these drinks their dark colour.

EM-X Gold and EM Sea Salt Gold

EM-X Gold is a drink produced by long fermentation, developed in Japan. Unlike EM Drink, it contains no live microorganisms, but rather the substances produced during fermentation. It is calorie-free, caffeine-free and has no added flavouring. There is no set dose: drink it neat or add it to a hot drink or a recipe.

EM Sea Salt Gold is a sea salt from Okinawa, sun-dried and made using EM technology according to the manufacturer. Use it in cooking like any other salt. Remember that any salt is first and foremost sodium: it counts towards your daily intake, which public health guidelines recommend limiting to around 5 g of salt a day from all sources.

Did you know?

Published studies on EM-X concern cells or rats, using an older formula based on rice, papaya and seaweed. We have found no rigorous clinical trials in humans: one more reason to present these drinks as drinks, and nothing more.

What the law forbids us to claim, and why

In the European Union, Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 governs nutrition and health claims on food. The principle is simple: a food may only claim a health effect if that claim appears on a European list, following scientific assessment, and under the specified conditions. In the UK, this regulation was retained in domestic law after Brexit and is applied with its own national register of claims.

• "Probiotic": for European authorities, this word implies a health benefit. It is therefore a health claim, and none has been authorised for probiotics to date. Some countries tolerate the term under strict conditions, mainly on food supplements; such national exceptions do not turn it into a permitted claim for a drink. Check the rules that apply in your country.
• Immunity, digestion, "after antibiotics": these claims are prohibited without an authorised claim. Those referring to a disease or treatment are reserved for medicines.
• "Rich in antioxidants": even this wording is regulated. It is only allowed alongside an authorised claim, and provided the product contains enough of the vitamin or nutrient concerned.

That is why we describe these products by their ingredients, taste and use. For any question about health, pregnancy, breastfeeding, ongoing treatment or a child's diet, ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice.

Key points

A fermented EM drink is a drink. It can be enjoyable and part of a varied diet, but it doesn't cure anything and doesn't replace any treatment.

EM soap and EMiko Care toothpaste: cosmetics

Body soap and toothpaste are cosmetic products, governed in the EU by Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 (retained in UK law with equivalent rules). They must undergo a safety assessment and have an identified responsible person in the market where they are sold, and their claims must be truthful and substantiated. A cosmetic cleans, perfumes, protects or maintains: it cannot claim to treat.

EM soap

Our EM soap, made in Okinawa, is a simple soap with no fragrance, preservatives or colourings, to which EM is added as it cools. It comes in two versions: Body & Bath, for skin and hair, and Kitchen & Degreasing, to rub onto a damp sponge for washing up, as is traditionally done in Japan. The washing-up version falls under the rules for cleaning products, not those for cosmetics.

EMiko Care toothpaste

EMiko Care toothpaste is made with chalk, rhassoul clay, coconut oil, stevia and EM ceramic powder, in neutral, fennel or mint versions. It contains only the fluoride naturally present in chalk, around 65 ppm. That is low: fluoride toothpastes recommended for preventing tooth decay generally contain 1,000 to 1,450 ppm. If you or your children need protection against tooth decay, ask your dentist which toothpaste to use.

Emy's tip

Put a pea-sized amount of toothpaste on the brush, brush for two to three minutes twice a day, then rinse the brush and the basin well: chalk can leave a thin white residue.

Don't mix up the uses

• EM products for the garden and home never go in the kitchen: not EM-1, EM-A, Microferm or EM Clean. They are not foods. Some leaflets suggest fermenting vegetables with EM Clean: don't do it.
• For homemade lacto-fermented vegetables, no EM product is needed: vegetables packed tightly in a jar, around 2% salt by weight, and a few weeks without air are all it takes. The lactic acid bacteria naturally present on the vegetables do the work.
• The soap and toothpaste are for humans. For your animals, use products designed for them and ask your vet for advice.

To understand what science actually says about EM, read our guide What science says about EM. The legal framework for all EM products, from garden to cosmetics, is explained in EM and regulations. And for housework, see Natural cleaning with EM Clean. The whole range is gathered in our EM body care section.

In summary

EM Drink, Aronia Fizz and EM-X Gold are fermented drinks, EM Sea Salt Gold is a cooking salt, and the soap and EMiko Care toothpaste are cosmetics. European law, and its retained equivalent in the UK, forbids attributing health effects to them without an authorised claim, and the word "probiotic" is not an authorised claim for a drink. So we present them by their ingredients and use. Never put a household or garden EM product in your food, choose a fluoride toothpaste if your dentist advises it, and talk to your doctor about any health question.

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