Today the FDA contacted nearly 30 manufacturers questioning the safety and legality of the caffeinated drinks. According to the law something that is added to food is considered unsafe unless approved by the FDA. Caffeine is actually not (yet) approved by the FDA and recent headlines such as the article I wrote at the beginning of this month, have highlighted the problems with the energy drinks.
I am curious to see what the results are going to be, but my guess is that the drinks will not be banned, but will maybe undergo heavy regulation. I am even more curious to see whether the Swedish government will pick up on this.
My suggestions are as following:
• There should be a 15 year age limit on drinks containing more than 20mg/dl of caffeine. This means that weak coffee, dark eat, green tea and coca cola makes the cut, but that Red bull, monster Dark dog and Battery would have to find a new target group.
• Restrictions on sponsoring of events that largely consists of underage participants and audience, and use of social networking sites to promote age-restricted drinks.
• There is also a great need for studies on the effect of energy drinks, and in particular ingredients such as taurine and glukuronolakton.
• Caffeinated drinks should never be mixed with alcohol, and premixes’ should undergo heavy restrictions.