Consumer Law

FDA, FTC, and Treasury Go After Caffeinated Alcoholic Drinks Aimed at Young People

By Brian Wolfman

As the Washington Post explains today:

Federal agencies moved aggressively Wednesday to eliminate from the market the potent alcoholic "energy" drinks spiked with caffeine that have become wildly popular on college campuses in recent years. In letters to four companies, the Food and Drug Administration said it had concluded that adding caffeine to alcohol created "adulterated" products that were unsafe and illegal. If the companies do not take action within 15 days, the FDA could begin seizing the products or seek a court order barring companies from continuing to sell the products. Simultaneously, Treasury Department officials announced that, based on the FDA's conclusion, the companies would be told that the products had been mislabeled and were, therefore, illegal to be shipped. And the Federal Trade Commission informed the same four firms that marketing their seven products risked violating federal law.

Read the FDA's press release. Then, go here for links to the agency's warning letters to the companies marketing these "blackout in a can" products, an FDA consumer update, and a Q-and-A on the topic. Then, read the FTC's press release. And check out the warning letters that the FTC sent to the companies here, here, here, and here.

Full post as published by CL&P Blog on November 18, 2010 (boomark / email).