CSPI Urges FDA to Act on Pure Caffeine Products

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has submitted a
letter to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert
Califf urging the agency to prohibit retail distribution of highly concentrated
caffeine products, including powdered (PPC), liquid and inhaled
caffeine.

The recently released letter supplements CSPI’s 2014 citizen petition
requesting the ban following the deaths caused by over-ingestion of
caffeine powder. FDA sent warning letters to companies selling the
substance, but “FDA’s five letters appear to have ceased the sale of
powdered caffeine at only the companies to which the agency addressed
the letters,” the CSPI document argues. “In the larger marketplace, sales
of PPC remain commonplace, and the substance is still widely available.
This compelling evidence demonstrates why a ban is the only step that
will protect consumers from the hazards of PPC.”

Issue 608