FDA Warns Consumers on Bulk Caffeine
Statement of CSPI Health Promotion Policy Director Jim O'Hara
July 18, 2014
The Food and Drug Administration today warned consumers not to consume powdered pure caffeine in the wake of an Ohio teenager’s death. While that is a step forward, FDA should take whichever additional measures it can against these products, and it has much more to do if it really wants to protect the public. For instance, the Center for Science in the Public Interest wrote FDA in June on the need for the Agency to prevent harms from caffeine-laced energy drinks by issuing a public health warning against their consumption, especially by youths, limiting the amount of caffeine in those products, and slapping a warning label on them. The overuse and misuse of caffeine in the food supply is creating a wild-west marketplace, and it’s about time the sheriff noticed and did something.
