Analysis of kefir information propagated in digital media

Abstract

The amount of available information in the media grows continuously and, frequently, it does not have a basis in the scientific literature. In the area of ​​food and nutrition, the contents are available on social media profiles, websites and blogs, which usually appoint some foods as “superfoods” – able of curing diseases or inhibiting their development – or, on the other hand, classifying other foods as the cause of damage to health. Kefir-based products can be classified in the first category, being considered a “superfood” by the media. Thus, the aim of this study is to search for information about kefir in digital media and to evaluate such information based on scientific articles. The contents were collected from 50 websites or blogs, using Google as a search tool. The data obtained were divided into 25 positive categories and 5 negative categories. One made a comparison with the scientific literature. Analyzing the information about kefir, the majority has a scientific basis, however, digital media put the research data in a superficial way, without clear information to readers.

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“…Indigenous fermented alcoholic beverages from different parts of the world have been described [2]. These include some fruit based spirits of brandy collectively known as Rakija or brija which are consumed in East European countries [3], Kefir or kefyr, produced from a combination of milk and kefir grains or from water, dried fruits and lemon which is common in Central Asia and Middle East [4][5][6], moonshine in India, Sima; a sucrose-based alcoholic drink consumed in Finland as well as Ayran and Boza (produced from millet or wheat) and widely consumed in Turkey [7,8]. In Africa, there is tella in Ethiopia, thobwa in Malawi, burukutu in Nigeria, tonto in Uganda, muratina in Kenya, as well as chibuku in Zimbabwe and Umqombothi in South Africa [9][10][11][12].…”