CRN Guidelines for Caffeine Products Consistent With New Energy Drinks Report

12 Apr 2013 --- In response to “What’s all the Buzz about? A Survey of Popular Energy Drinks Finds Inconsistent Labeling, Questionable Ingredients and Targeted Marketing to Adolescents,” a report issued April 10, 2013 by the staff of Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT, the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement industry, issued the following statement.

Statement by Steve Mister, president & CEO, CRN: “We’re pleased to see that most of the recommendations in the report issued by Rep. Markey and Sens. Durbin and Blumenthal on energy drinks are consistent with CRN’s recently issued recommended guidelines for caffeine-containing dietary supplements. While the lawmakers point out that the energy drink product category is relatively new, caffeine certainly is not, and is, in fact, one of the most well-studied food ingredients on the market with a long history of safe use.”

CRN agrees with the report’s recommendations to label products with the total amount of caffeine added to the product from all sources, as this provides consumers with important information with which they can make informed decisions. Further, CRN also recommends that manufacturers of caffeine-containing dietary supplements provide label advisories that address the safe use of these products by children, pregnant women and any subpopulations that may be sensitive to the ingredient.

“We also noted that some of the work our industry has done over the past several years to help protect consumers has not gone unnoticed, as the report noted that dietary supplement companies are already required to submit serious adverse event reports to FDA. We will continue to call on FDA to finalize its Draft Guidance on distinguishing liquid dietary supplements from beverages, as CRN believes that will provide further clarity as to how companies can determine whether to market their energy drinks as supplements or conventional foods.  For consumers, what’s most important is not which category these products fall into, but the fact that both categories have rules and regulations that help ensure consumers can purchase safe products.”