Energy drinks follow-up letter 21 March 2002

Thursday 21 March 2002

Commission meeting of 28th February on 'energy drinks'

Further to my letter of 13 February 2002 regarding the meeting in which the Commission called together experts from Member States to discuss the perceived safety issues around 'energy drinks'. I am writing now to let you know the outcome of these discussions.

The Commission led a well-structured discussion based on a paper that had been circulated to Member States representatives ahead of the meeting. As well as setting out items for discussion, the paper defined 'energy drinks', for the purposes of this meeting, as 'soft drinks containing substances such as caffeine, taurine, glucuronolactone and others at high levels'.

Discussion revolved around the following key questions:

In individual Member States are 'energy drinks' considered to be normal foodstuffs?
Are the perceived [health] problems with 'energy drinks' due to particular ingredients or to the products as a whole?
Should upper safe limits be set for certain ingredients?
Should statements concerning certain ingredients be included on the labels of 'energy drinks'?

All Member States, apart from Denmark and France (where 'energy drinks' are not on the market), Italy and Greece view 'energy drinks' as normal foodstuffs. In broad terms, Member States were in agreement and came to the following conclusions:

• based on current evidence 'energy drinks' may be considered as normal foodstuffs and regulated as such
• the main issues with "energy drinks" relate to particular ingredients (caffeine, taurine, glucuronolactone) used in concentrations or combinations that are not found in the 'normal' diet
• currently there is insufficient scientific evidence to enable the setting of upper safe limits for levels of taurine and glucuronolactone in 'energy drinks' or to support a ban on the use of these ingredients
• given the gaps in our knowledge and following the recent Standing Committee decision to adopt a Directive on the labelling of foodstuffs containing quinine and/or caffeine, there is no basis on which to take further action on labelling at this time

The meeting concluded that the Commission should not take any further action on 'energy drinks' at this time. However, the Scientific Committee for Food is currently considering new data and its opinion is expected before the end of the year. The meeting felt that the Commission, together with Member States, should reconsider its position once that opinion has become available.

Yours sincerely

Patricia Dodds
Food Standards Diet & Nutrition