FALSE: Probiotic milk drink Yakult is made from cow sperm

At a glance:

• Claim: A screenshot of a Google Search snippet claims probiotic milk drink Yakult is made from cow sperm.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: Cow sperm is not listed as an ingredient of Yakult. The Google Search snippet is lifted from an unverified Facebook post.
• Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook post was sent via email to Rappler for verification. The post with the screenshot has more than 27,000 reactions and over 67,000 shares as of writing.

Complete details:

A Facebook user posted a screenshot on Saturday, April 17, of a Google Search snippet which claimed probiotic milk drink Yakult is “made up of (sic) sperm of the cow.”

As of writing, the post has over 27,000 reactions and 67,000 shares, and the screenshot and claim have since been reposted by other Facebook users and pages.

The Google Search snippet is lifted from an unverified July 31, 2020 post by Facebook page DYK, which lists itself as a “Just For Fun” page. The Facebook page has 63 likes and has been inactive since.

This is false. Cow sperm is not listed as an ingredient of Yakult. 

Yakult Philippines’ website says the locally-made drinks are made from water, sugar, skim milk powder, glucose, and Lactobacillus casei Shirota. Lactobacillus casei Shirota is a probiotic strain of lactic acid bacteria that helps maintain intestinal health. 

Yakult products are also registered with the Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration.

Rappler also checked the official Yakult websites of other countries worldwide. No Yakult producer includes cow sperm in their ingredients, according to the websites listed on the official US site. – Alois Isinika and Gaby Baizas/Rappler.com

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.