The Many Drinks of Japan

Japan has ever changing trends. Never to be outdone is the food industry, which regularly changes the flavors of their products to keep consumers interested. Drinks are no exception. As the season of summer is well upon us, corporations have been coming out with a slew of new drinks. One of which is the Minute Maid Pineapple drink containing Lactobacillus Plantarum 122. According to the quote on the little 210 mL bottle, "Plant Origin Lactic, Lactobacillus Plantarum 122 is plant origin lactic acid bacteria discovered from Pineapples".

Because literal translations of Japanese for the most part just create more confusion for the English reader and because I am completely clueless when it comes to reading Kanji, Katakana, and Hiragana, the subject intrigued me and I decided to do some research.

Putting additives to drinks is nothing new. Jamba Juice has been doing it for a long time (hence, "Would you like a free boost with that?" and just in the last 2 years Minute Maid has been experimenting with adding different additives to it's drinks for their US consumers. In Minute Maid orange juice you can find calcium, fiber and "mild" versions of orange juice. The later promises to be gentler on the drinker's stomach.

While I couldn't necessarily pinpoint specifically why Minute Maid added this particular chemical, I know it has something to do with stomach and digestive health. Which is all the rage in a country where stomach cancer and other aliments are one of the leading causes of death among it's citizens. After looking up Lactobacillus Plantarum 122 on Wikipedia and struggling my way through all of the scientific jargon, I found that this chemical or something closely related is found or used in yogurts and cheese. A certain bacteria that promotes health. Very general, I know. If anyone could shed some light on the subject, it would be much appreciated.

The drink itself was pretty tasty. Sort of like a pineapple milk type drink. Mild and not acidic at all. It comes in a small 210 mL bottle. About 100 kcal per bottle. In other food news, the new Kit Kat flavors lately have been banana, orange, and melon. I really like the orange. It reminds me of Christmas time and enjoying the Toblerone Chocolate Oranges.

We've also just recently purchased a new computer. Our old one was about 7 years old so it was time. I'll leave the technical stuff for Mike to talk about.