Senators Call on Energy Drink Makers to Answer Questions About Products

Democratic U.S. Sens. Edward Markey (Mass.), Richard Durbin (Ill.) and Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) have issued letters to 14 energy drink companies, including Red Bull, Pepsi Co. Inc. and Monster Energy, seeking answers to more than a dozen questions. Responses are requested by February 1, 2013.

Noting that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating the industry, the senators contend that “[t]he blurred distinction between supplements and conventional foods or beverages combined with recent published reports by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and FDA regarding consumption of energy drinks has led to significant consumer confusion and concern about the safety and use of these products.”

Among other matters, the senators ask (i) whether each company’s product is a “supplement, conventional food/beverage or neither,” (ii) how each company presents nutritional information on product labels, (iii) how much caffeine is present in the company’s product and whether this information is provided, (iv) whether the company includes other stimulant ingredients in calculating the amount of caffeine in its product, and (v) if the company markets its energy product to children or teenagers. They also ask whether the companies have performed any studies “to examine the potential for serious health consequences of using your product(s), including caffeine toxicity, stroke, anxiety, arrhythmia, and in some cases death.” See Press Release of Sen. Edward Markey, January 17, 2013.