February 11, 2025 - American Public News

ITHACA, N.Y. — A recent February evening at the Sacred Root Kava Lounge and Tea Bar appeared, at first glance, to be business as usual. A band played extended folk-rock songs from the stage to a small but engaged audience. Customers ordering a variety of non-alcoholic drinks chatted with owner Paul Galgoczy, who stood behind a counter adorned with a large golden figurine depicting the head of the Buddha.But there was one significant element missing: the kava bar has no kava. Since Jan. 1, the popular downtown establishment tucked beneath the Cornell Daily Sun building on West State Street has been barred from serving its namesake beverage in compliance with a new state directive. Sacred Root Kava Lounge is the only kava-focused establishment in Tompkins County.The beverage is prepared from the root of a tropical shrub known as kava. It has long been consumed traditionally by Pacific island cultures for its relaxing effects. In places like the Sacred Root Kava Lounge, it is typically served as a drink or tea after a cold water extraction process, Galgoczy said. But Galgoczy said Tompkins County Whole Health, the county’s health department, informed him around Thanksgiving that his restaurant license would not be renewed if he continued to sell its namesake beverage.“That was obviously kind of shocking, we’ve been here 10 years and kava has been 90 percent of our business focus,” Galgoczy said. The change comes after the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) updated its regulations following a 2020 memo from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “The US [FDA] made the determination that kava is not an approved food additive due to potential negative impacts on human health,” according to the county’s Environmental Health division. “Based on this determination, the NYSDOH determined that kava is an adulterant and cannot be served in a restaurant.”Credit: Casey Martin / The Ithaca VoiceThe 2020 memo cites studies that found compounds in the plant could cause liver damage when consumed “indiscriminately.”“After reviewing the available data and information, toxicology concludes that there is enough toxicological data that demonstrates that indiscriminate use of kava either as a ‘recreational’ or ‘relaxation’ beverage is not safe for human consumption,” according to the FDA’s 2020 memo. Kava has been banned entirely, though not without challenge, in several European countries, and in 2023 New York City authorities closed two kava bars based on the FDA’s regulations — though that decision is still mired in litigation. Galgoczy and other kava purveyors have argued that when prepared traditionally as a beverage, the plant is safe to consume. He said kava’s harmful effects are mainly tied to its more concentrated form, which is still legal for personal use as a dietary supplement.“There’s such a long history of kava without any ill effects,” Galgoczy said. “Any issue of health risks related to kava has been tied to its form as a dietary supplement, like an extracted and enhanced form of kava. The issue is the state is not delineating between the traditional kava drink and this heightened dietary supplement form.”Galgoczy pointed to Michigan and Hawai’i, where state health departments have issued “generally recognized as safe” decisions on the use of kava root — despite the FDA’s contrary 2020 directive.“You can buy tea with kava in it at Wegmans, or you can buy things with kava in them at GreenStar, but we can’t mix it with water and serve it as a drink,” Galgoczy said. “We just think it’s very misguided, it doesn’t take into account this whole history of use and the value of kava as a relaxing social beverage. It’s such a more responsible thing than alcohol or other substances, that it’s really kind of absurd.” Galgoczy said he had provided supporting data to state health officials in the hopes of differentiating the form of kava they serve versus the dietary supplement version, which he said is the true target of the regulations. The state health department rejected the information Galgoczy sent. The business was then given one month, until Dec. 31, to stop serving kava, at which point they did. Galgoczy said he has not yet determined exact changes to the menu going forward, though they will remain open with a different focus. A Change.org petition calling on New York State lawmakers to recognize kava as “generally recognized as safe,” authored by Galgoczy, had received nearly 700 signatures in its first week. “We feel that if there’s enough community support behind it, and representatives are on-board with the value of it, then there could be more motivation for the health department to look at it,” Galgoczy said. “There’s plenty of data there, that’s not the issue. It’s more the willingness to take into account the data.” Galgoczy said the community support so far has been “tremendous,” but that the future is still uncertain for one of Ithaca’s only non-alcoholic nightlife options. “We’re a place where people come to relax, not be around alcohol or other substances like that,” Galgoczy said. “When people got the idea that there was this risk of us disappearing, there was a pretty strong outpouring of support, and it’s been great to see that.”The post Local establishment barred from selling namesake non-alcoholic beverage appeared first on The Ithaca Voice.First published by The Ithaca Voice.

Daily Archives: February 11, 2025

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