Are Caffeine Laced Drinks Going to Be Outlawed?
A recent ruling by the FDA may have all of us looking for our coffee flavored alcohol in other areas very soon if they have their way. Any alcoholic beverage that is caffeine laced may soon be pulled off the market. This topic has been getting a lot of press lately and many coffee flavored and “energy boosting” beverages run the risk of being pulled off the shelf.
The reason for this is that the FDA believes many of these beverages are being promoted as safe drinks. Meaning that because they have caffeine, they are more likely to keep the consumer awake than they are to make them tired as the evening goes on. It is actually reasonable when you really look at it and marketing companies may have dug themselves a hole here that they will not be able to get out of.
Many of these drinks don’t actually have coffee flavors in them, but it will affect the market. All one has to do to understand where this is coming from is to look at the rising counts of DUI’s among young drivers. One of the most popular drinks in any younger bar these days is vodka and Red Bull. They get their alcohol fix and think that because they are drinking Red Bull, that they will be able to party all night long. The repercussions of this speak for themselves.
The FDA has put out the mandate that all companies that are serving drinks that have caffeine in them have 30 days to prove to the FDA that their beverage is safe to consume. While all of this is going on, one cannot help but wonder if they will eventually forbid bars and restaurants to even carry and offer these types of combinations. This is just something for those of us that seek our caffeine in places other than coffee and tea to look out for.
brewed on Jan 8th, 2010
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