Live and active probiotics. Est. 1986. The Lifeway Kefir story: My family's American dream began when we immigrated to the United States in 1976 from Kyiv, which was then part of the former Soviet Union. My father Michael loved his new home, but missed kefir, a probiotic superfood staple of the Eastern European diet for nearly 2,000 years. An engineer by trade, he brought this ancient healing beverage to the American masses in 1986 when our first bottles of Lifeway Kefir officially went into production. Known as the champagne of dairy, Lifeway Kefir is a tart, tangy, slightly effervescent taste of the folk wisdom that has been passed down by my ancestors for generations and has nourished countless families for centuries. I love your guts, Julie, CEO. Healthy. We use milk that has not been treated with artificial hormones or antibiotics (no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from RBST treated cows and non-RBST treated cows). Fermentation keeps the kefir fresh until the expiration date stamped on the bottle, regardless of when you open it. Remove label to recycle bottle.