FDA May Have Age Restrictions On Cups Of Coffee
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) (2011 Getty Images)
If you are a teenager, soon you may not be able to order a cup of Joe. Or a can of Red Bull.
The Food and Drug Administration is considering putting an age limit on products containing caffeine, ranging from energy drinks to a simple cup of coffee.
FDA Deputy Commissioner Michael Taylor said enforcing age restrictions would be challenging, the more fundamental questions is whether “we should place limits on the amount of caffeine in certain products.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Taylor said a growing amount of drinks and snacks, many targeting children, contain caffeine.
"It is disturbing," said Taylor in an interview with The Associated Press. "We're concerned about whether they have been adequately evaluated."
According to Taylor, the current proliferation of caffeine products is "beyond anything FDA envisioned." FDA investigative efforts will likely remain focused on energy drinks, which have grown in popularity among teens in the past decade.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The FDA has not approved using caffeine in products since the 1950s, when they approved it in colas.
According to the government, a person should have a maximum of 400 milligrams of caffeine per day.
Last November, the FDA said it had received 92 reports over four years from people who became ill, were hospitalized or died after consuming an energy shot marketed as 5-Hour Energy.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The FDA said it had also received reports that cited the highly caffeinated Monster Energy Drink in several deaths.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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