KAVA steeped solely in water and prepared as a single ingredient beverage – which is the way it has been prepared and consumed in the Pacific for thousands of years – is now recognised in the state of California, US, as food.
In this form, it will not be regulated as a food additive in that State.
This was reflected in the latest update by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) of its Consumer Fact Sheet for Kava, providing certainty to the legal forms of kava in California.
The update has been welcomed by US-based kava advocacy group Kava Coalition, who said this has brought about much needed clarity on the status of traditionally prepared kava under California laws.
“This update provides long-needed clarity for consumers, businesses and regulators alike,” Kava Coalition executive director Douglas La Rose said in statement last week.
“For more than a year, the Kava Coalition has worked closely with kava bars across California to petition for clear guidance, and the state has now provided that clarity.
“We also consulted extensively with Pacific Islander communities who were deeply concerned about California’s position on kava as a conventional food.
“Traditional kava preparation has profound cultural significance and a long history of safe use, and we are encouraged to see California’s guidance now clearly reflect that reality,” Mr La Rose said.
California, he said, is home to one of the largest Pacific Islander populations in mainland US and include communities from Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and other kava-producing cultures.
“For these communities, kava is not only a social beverage but a cornerstone of cultural practice, ceremony and identity.
“The updated CDPH guidance provides meaningful cultural recognition while also supporting small businesses and community spaces that contribute to local economies throughout the state.”
In its updated guidance, the CDPH recognises kava as follows: “Traditionally, kava root has been used in the Pacific Islands to make recreational and ceremonial beverages.
“In addition, kava root’s active ingredient, kavalactones, has sedative and psychoactive properties. “Dietary supplements containing kavalactones are marketed to relieve anxiety, improve insomnia, etc. throughout the world, including the United States.”
Kava and kava-based preparations, it added, are regulated as either food, dietary supplements or drugs in the US.
While it noted that under federal law, kava as a food additive is still not considered GRAS (generally recognised as safe) and is not approved as a food additive by the US Food and Drug Administration, kava as a preparation “steeped in only water to brew tea and consumed as a single-ingredient conventional food” falls outside that bracket.
Mr La Rose said the earlier version of the Fact Sheet only referenced the absence of regulatory limitations for kava as a dietary supplement.
“The updated document now states that ‘there are currently no regulatory limitations regarding the use of kava as a single ingredient conventional food or dietary supplement’.
“This change explicitly expands lawful use beyond supplements and directly affirms the legitimacy of traditional water-based kava preparation,” he said.
The Kava Coalition, he added, views the update as “a significant step forward for public understanding, regulatory consistency and cultural recognition in California”.
“After a period of uncertainty, the revised guidance offers a more stable and accurate framework for how kava is prepared and consumed across the state,” Mr La Rose said.
According to CDPH’s updated Consumer Facts – Kava document, updated on January 27, 2026, kava in the US:
- is not considered GRAS as a food additive and is therefore prohibited as an addition in conventional food,
- is not approved as a drug, hence, is not a drug and cannot make health claims,
- is allowed to be marketed as a dietary supplement provided relevant federal and state requirements are met,
- is not regulated as a food additive if it is “steeped in only water to brew tea and consumed as a single-ingredient conventional food.”
