Last week the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it would examine the trend of food products that included caffeine. This has already prompted one company to pause production on a caffeinated gum. The announcement follows action in 2010 to withdraw caffeinated alcoholic beverages from the market. Part of the rationale behind that effort was that the addition of caffeine masked the usual cues people receive from alcohol consumption. (So those arguing the latest action marks a new intrusion aren’t paying close attention.)
Currently FDA regulations allow the addition of caffeine to products if it meets safety standards and gets included in the ingredients list. It has only approved the addition of caffeine to products once – for colas in the 1950s (perhaps because it was a replacement for coca).
James Hamblin and others at The Atlantic has been studying the effects of caffeine and its regulatory history. It would appear that the FDA is focused in part on caffeine in products that are or could be marketed to children. Michael Taylor, the FDA deputy commissioner that was interviewed for the announcement, appears to suggest that things like energy drinks and breakfast foods with caffeine are the kinds of things the agency is particularly concerned about. The FDA hasn’t set a level for children, but it recommends a maximum of 400 milligrams for healthy adults.
While it is possible that the recent announcement would be enough to cut back on the number of caffeinated food products, I suspect the FDA will pursue further study. Whether that ultimately leads to regulation is uncertain, in part because it would not likely be a blanket prohibition. While implementation of any kind of caffeine regulation will be problematic, focusing on certain products and a specific audience will require more time to develop.
Pasco Phronesis 