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Listen to this siteThursday 15 July 2010
Energy drinks are generally drinks with high caffeine levels that are claimed by the manufacturers to give the consumer more 'energy' than a typical soft drink. They are often also known as 'stimulant' or 'shot' drinks.
There are an increasing number of these products on the market and, as well as caffeine, they may contain other stimulants, such as glucuronolactone, taurine, and sometimes vitamins and minerals or herbal substances. The caffeine levels in energy drinks vary, but there’s usually about 80 milligrams (mg) of caffeine in a small 250ml can – the same as three cans of cola or a small mug of coffee. Some of the smaller shot style products can vary from about 80mg to as much as 175mg of caffeine in a 60ml bottle.
Caffeine in drinks can affect some people more than others, as it depends on how much caffeine you normally drink, how strong the drinks are, and how often you have them. Children, or other people sensitive to caffeine, should only consume in moderation drinks with high levels of caffeine. Pregnant women are advised not to have more than 200mg of caffeine a day, roughly two mugs of coffee. You’ll often see advice on energy drinks saying they’re not suitable for children and pregnant women.
EU labelling rules already require that drinks containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre (mg/l) are labelled with the term 'high caffeine content' in the same field of vision as the name of the food and accompanied by an indication of the amount of caffeine per 100ml in the product, but no other labelling is required by law. Advertisements for these drinks do not need to declare they have a high caffeine content.
Some energy drinks are already labelled with voluntary advice about their unsuitability for children and pregnant woman because of their high caffeine content. In April 2010 the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) published a voluntary Code of Practice that recommends prominent labelling on energy drinks, such as 'Not suitable for children, pregnant women and persons sensitive to caffeine'. This code is also supported by the Association of Convenience Stores.
The Agency welcomes this additional action and the consistency this brings through improved voluntary labelling of these drinks. We hope that this approach will be adopted across the energy drinks market, so that people with usually low caffeine intakes can make an informed choice.
The Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) considered the effects of caffeine intake in 1999 and 2003 and noted that a dose of 5mg caffeine per kilogram bodyweight (300mg for a 60kg person) could result in transient behavioural changes, such as increased arousal, irritability, nervousness or anxiety in some people, particularly if they were normally low consumers of caffeine.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which advises the European Commission on safety matters, published an opinion in 2009 on the safety of taurine and glucuronolactone as individual ingredients of energy drinks. The EFSA opinion concluded that these two ingredients of energy drinks did not pose a safety concern to adults or children at the levels currently used.
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