Caffeine in Drinks and Snack Foods--Will it Harm Children?

By Ethel Tiersky

Feb 05, 2016

Caffeine added to soft drinks has been worrying the FDA for awhile. Now there's a new concern: solid foods laced with added caffeine or coffee. There are a surprising number of these products on the market now, and most of them are snack items popular with children. These are sources of caffeine that children have easy access to, so the FDA has launched an investigation to find what physical, psychological, and behavioral effects more caffeine in food products might have on younger children, adolescents, and teens. What options would the government have if the investigation indicates danger? Let's look into the matter.

Why does caffeine perk us up?

Caffeine is a nervous system stimulant that interferes with a brain chemical (adenosine) that accelerates sleep. It also encourages the brain's own neurotransmitters to stimulate bodily systems. As a result, it speeds up heart rate and can cause abnormal heart rhythms, making a person think he or she is having a heart attack. Caffeine can also cause tremors.

How much caffeine is too much?

According to the National Institutes of Health, most healthy adults can tolerate moderate doses of caffeine, about 200-300 milligrams or 2-4 cups of brewed coffee per day. The FDA places the upper limit at 400 milligrams or about 4-5 cups daily.

But what about kids? At present, there are no government guidelines concerning how much caffeine is okay for kids. Of course, we know that most kids have some caffeine in their diets, assuming they're allowed to have chocolate, cocoa, and/or cola. But what if caffeine is added to their chewing gum, popcorn, and/or other favorite snacks? And what if adolescents and teens are drinking a lot of energy drinks? Experts have mentioned possible adverse effects such as sleep deprivation, anxiety, rapid heartbeat, physical dependence, and addiction. The American Academy of Pediatrics has expressed its opinion: children and adolescents should not consume caffeinated drinks and other stimulants. Consumer Reports puts safe caffeine limits for children at 45-85 milligrams per day, depending upon the child's weight.

What types of foods are being given a high-energy "kick"?

Here are some of the caffeine-enhanced items on the market today: energy drinks, chewing gum, Cracker Jack'd (a coffee-laced version of Cracker Jack), jelly beans, ice cream, waffles, maple syrup, trail mix, potato chips, popcorn, marshmallows, instant oatmeal, sunflower seeds, Gummi Bears, brownies, mints, and, believe it or not, water. If a child consumed an energy drink, chewed several pieces of caffeine-enhanced gum, and snacked on high-energy popcorn all in the same day, the combination could, at the very least, have adverse behavioral effects. It could also, depending upon the child's age and amount of caffeine consumed, be dangerous.

How much caffeine is in various products?

High-Energy Beverages: For the sake of comparison, an 8-oz cup of coffee contains about 100 milligrams of caffeine, but there's a lot of variation. If it's Starbucks coffee, the caffeine content is about 165 milligrams. Here are some Consumer Reports caffeine figures: Red Bull Energy Drink: 75; Starbucks Doubleshot: 88; Monster: 92; Monster X-presso: 221; 5-hour Energy Extra Strength: 242. Since 2004, the FDA has received reports of 5 deaths linked to Monster, which contains 160 mg. of caffeine in a 16-oz.can. These cases do not prove that the drink caused the deaths, since other factors may have contributed, but they suggest a possible connection.

Caffeinated Gum: Wrigley (a subsidiary of Mars) was promoting a new pack of gum (containing 8 pieces), with each piece containing as much caffeine as a half-cup of coffee. In other words, chewing one pack is like having 4 cups of coffee. It isn't unusual for a child to chew a whole pack of gum during a boring car trip, discarding each stick as it loses its sweet flavor and replacing it with a fresh one. If it’s caffeinated, that could create a very restless passenger.

In early May, Wrigley announced that it would temporarily stop selling and marketing its Alert caffeinated gum after consultations with the FDA.

Food: An instant oatmeal now on the market claims that one serving provides as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. If one breakfasts on that plus 2 cups of coffee, that's a lot of caffeine when the day has barely begun.

A USA Today article lists these brands and the quantity of caffeine in each product:

Cracker Jack'd: 70 milligrams in each 2-oz. package

Jelly Belly's Extreme Sport Beans: 50 mg. in each 1-oz. package

What has the federal government done so far to protect consumers from excessive caffeine in beverages and foods? What will they do next?

Current FDA requirements say that manufacturers can add caffeine to products if 1) it meets relevant safety standards and 2) caffeine is included in the list of ingredients. What are the safety standards? Who knows? The only time the government approved the addition of a specific amount of caffeine to a product was the 1950s for colas. The amount of caffeine declared safe in colas was up to 200 parts per million. There is no official word that the same ratio would or wouldn't apply to other foods.

If caffeine is added to a product that doesn't naturally contain it, caffeine must be listed as an ingredient, but the AMOUNT of caffeine does NOT need to be indicated. A Consumer Reports study that tested 27 energy drinks found that 11 didn't list the amount of caffeine. Of the 16 products that did, 5 of them contained more than 20% more caffeine than the label indicated. One of the products actually contained 70% less.

Michael R. Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine at FDA, recently pointed this out: "In 2010, we [FDA] brought about the withdrawal from the market of caffeinated alcoholic beverages, primarily malt beverages, in part because of studies indicating that combined ingestion of caffeine and alcohol may lead to hazardous and life-threatening situations. Caffeine can mask some of the sensory cues that people might normally rely on to determine their level of intoxication."

Speaking for the FDA, Taylor recently made this strong statement: "We believe that some in the food industry are on a dubious, potentially dangerous path. If the science indicates that it is warranted, we are prepared to go through the regulatory process to establish clear boundaries and conditions on caffeine use. We are also prepared to consider enforcement action against individual products as appropriate."

He is, however, hoping that the food industry will voluntarily respond to whatever boundaries and conditions the FDA's research results might suggest is necessary. One possibility is to put conspicuous safety warnings on these products and perhaps statements that they should not be given to children under a certain age. But specific remedies cannot be decided upon until further research to determine what effect caffeine has on youngsters.

Some might suggest this solution: Make the products, available for purchase only to adults. Taylor points out that such a restriction would be difficult to enforce. On the other hand, a ban on the manufacture of these products would deny adults who don't like coffee or chocolate (Are there really such people?) from a way to experience a quick energy boost when they needed it. It is the same dilemma we run into so often: how much freedom must we give up in order to be safe (or at least safer)?

One reassuring note: the large supermarkets near my home (in a suburb of Chicago) did not carry any of these sold-food caffeine-laced products, though they had a large assortment of the high-energy drinks and shots. Moreover, one store manager I spoke to didn't even know there were such products. But, if you want to buy some, go to the product's website.

Source(s):

fda.gov "FDA to Investigate Added Caffeine"

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm350570.htm

consumerreports.org "The buzz on energy-drink caffeine"

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/12/the-buzz-on-energy-drink-caffeine/index.htm

well.blogs.nytimes.com "Caffeine-Laced Foods Spur F.D.A. Investigation"

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/caffeine-laced-foods-spur-f-d-a-investigation/?_r=0

wjla.com "FDA investigates caffeine-added gum, food"

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/05/fda-investigates-caffeine-added-gum-food-88558.html

webMD "How Much Caffeine Is in Your Energy Drink?"

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20121025/how-much-caffeine-energy-drink

Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter "FDA to Investigate Added Caffeine,"