foodconsumer.org: FDA: Caffeine may not be used in alcoholic beverages

FDA: Caffeine may not be used in alcoholic beverages
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admin on 11/14/2009 19:18:00
 
The Food and Drug Administration announced Friday Nov. 13 that it sent out a
letter to about 30 manufacturers of caffeinated alcoholic beverages expressing
its concern about the safety and legality of their products.
Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner of food and drugs, said his
agency is concerned about the use of caffeine in alcoholic beverages because
these products which have gained popularity among college students may have some
safety issues.
The FDA said as many as 26 percent of college students are using drinks with
both alcohol and caffeine.
The food and drug authority said under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,
anything added to food needs to be pre-approved by the agency or recognized as
Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS). In either case, a company needs to file a
petition to the FDA.
Caffeine as an additive is approved for use in soft drinks in concentrations of
no greater than 200 parts per million or ppm. But this substance has not been
sanctioned for use in alcoholic beverages.
The recipients of the letter will have to respond to the FDA within 30 days.
They will need to prove that the use of caffeine in their products is GRAS or
prior sanctioned. Otherwise, the FDA said it will take action to ensure that the
products are removed from the market.
This is not the first time the FDA put some pressure on the manufacturers of
caffeinated alcoholic beverages.
"In the past year, Anheuser-Busch and Miller agreed to discontinue their popular
caffeinated alcoholic beverages, Tilt and Bud Extra and Sparks, and agreed to
not produce any caffeinated alcoholic beverages in the future," FDA said in a
statement.
In September, 18 Attorneys general and one city attorney expressed their
concerns about the alcoholic beverages with added caffeine, according to the
FDA.
Caffeine is a psychoactive stimulant drug and it acts primarily upon the central
nervous system where it alters brain function, leading to changes in perception,
mood, consciousness and behavior.
Caffeine is found in the beans, leaves, and fruit of certain plants including
coffee, tea, cacao, kola, guarana and yerba mate.
In a letter dated Sept. 21, 2009 and addressed to Attorney General Richard
Blumenthal in CT, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff in UT and Attorney General
Alicia G. Limtiaco in Guam, Amelia M. Arria, Ph.D. from the University of
Maryland College Park and colleagues demonstrated that use of caffeine in
alcoholic beverages can cause a series of health problems.
Combined use of caffeine and alcohol in products like energy drinks increases
consumption of alcohol and drinkers are more likely to get drunk.  Studies have
shown that increased exposure to alcohol in adolescence and young adulthood
boosts odds for alcohol dependency later in life, according to the letter.
Drinking beverages with both alcohol and caffeine would result in an accurate
perception of alcohol intoxication causing "the impairment to judgment and
reaction time associated with drunkenness."
Increased consumption of alcohol induced by caffeine can lead to "serious
alcohol consequences such as being taken advantage of sexually or taking
advantage of someone else sexually, riding with a drunken driver and being
physically injured."
Arria et. al. also mentioned one study that suggests that the risk of
arrhythmias may be accentuated with the combined intake of energy drinks and
alcohol.
The authors concluded "the consumption of caffeinated alcoholic beverages has
been associated with increased risk of serious injury to oneself and to others,
as the result of driving while intoxicated, sexual assault, and other dangerous
behaviors."
By David Liu and editing by Sheilah Downey