A huge new segment of the boozy marketplace is filled by alcoholic beverages that also contain caffeine. The products have names like Max Fury and Evil Eye and are largely drunk by college students who want to get a buzz and a buzz at the same time.

Now the Food and Drug Administration says that the makers of such products need to prove that they are safe in order to be able to stay on the market. The agency says it has never approved the use of caffeine in alcoholic beverages and doesn’t know why the companies marketing such beverages decided it was safe to combine the two.

What the safety rules say

The FDA rules on food and beverage products are laid out in the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which says that additives in products are considered unsafe if they haven’t been explicitly approved for that purpose, the substance hasn’t been previously approved, or for a use that isn’t generally regarded as safe.

The agency says none of these apply in the case of caffeine in alcoholic beverages, so it’s up to the companies that make the beverages to prove “safety at the levels used and a basis to conclude that this evidence is generally known and accepted by qualified experts.”

Caffeine is only approved as an additive in soft drinks and in an amount no greater than 200 parts per million. Its use in alcoholic beverages has not been approved.

What happens next

The companies in question have 30 days to provide their rationale for using caffeine in their products to the FDA. If the agency doesn’t agree with the arguments presented or the companies don’t comply, the FDA says it will take steps to remove the offending products from the marketplace.

What’s the big deal?

A task force of state attorneys general requested the FDA look at the beverages, saying they think caffeine masks the intoxicating effects of alcohol, which may make young drinkers in particular more likely to get behind the wheel with potentially deadly consequences.

Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut’s attorney general, said the ultimate goal of the group is to ban the sale of such beverages to young drinkers.

But even if these products aren’t available in a convenient, ready to drink form, young people and others will continue to combine caffeine and alcohol, whether in a vodka and Red Bull or a rum and Coke.

And one wonders why the FDA says in its press release that caffeine has only been approved for use in soft drinks, yet energy drinks without alcohol are apparently allowed without justifying their safety. We’ll see in a month’s time what the companies come up with and how the FDA responds.

(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 and is filed under Beverages. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. Permalink.