Caffeinated Cracker Jacks concerns consumer group
Cracker Jack'D Power Bites Cocoa Java / http://www.nationwidecandy.com
Cracker Jacks are about get a caffeinated kick.
Frito-Lay is set to release a new version of the 105-year-old snack called Cracker Jack'D with some flavors that contain caffeine, and a consumer watchdog is crying foul.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest says the snacks, along with a few others it flags, are a violation of Food and Drug Administration law. The FDA only considers additive caffeine safe for cola-type beverages if it contains only 0.02 percent and has no such standards for snacks and other products, according to the consumer group.
"Unless the FDA begins enforcing its regulations, I fear that we'll see caffeine being added to ever-more improbable drinks and snacks, putting children, unsuspecting pregnant women, and others at risk," CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson said in a written statement. "How soon before we have caffeinated burgers, burritos, or breakfast cereals?"
- Caffeinated potato chips aim to boost snack time
- FDA warns AeroShot caffeine inhaler's maker
- FDA investigating 13 deaths tied to 5-hour Energy
- FDA investigates five deaths, one heart attack linked to Monster Energy Drinks
THE CSPI sent the FDA a letter urging it to take action against Cracker Jack'D (which has cocoa java and vanilla mocha flavors that contain caffeine), Kraft Foods' MiO "water enhancers" (which contain 60 miligrams of caffeine per squirt) and Jelly Belly's "Extreme Sport Beans"(which contain 50 milligrams of caffeine per one-ounce packet).
"Those products may be just the beginning of a craze in which many companies, large and small, disregard the FDA's regulation and begin adding caffeine to all kinds of foods and beverages," Jacobson said in the letter addressed to the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "That could lead to serious health problems for children who consume those products as well as lead to cynicism among the public and industry about the FDA's effectiveness in enforcing and protecting the public's health."
Potential health problems include anxiety, restlessness, irritability, excitability and insomnia, says CSPI. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages caffeine consumption in children.
5-Hour Energy linked to deaths
Monster Energy Drink maker sued over teen's death
Carla Daniels, a spokesperson for the FDA told CBSNews.com in an email that the agency received the letter and will respond directly to CSPI.
However whether adding caffeine to snacks is illegal as CSPI charges may still be up for debate.
"For conventional foods, the addition of caffeine up to 200 parts per million in cola-type beverages (e.g., Pepsi and Coke) is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) under FDA's regulations," Daniels said. "Although this regulation specifies the level of caffeine that is GRAS in cola-type beverages, it does not automatically preclude other uses of caffeine in conventional foods from being considered GRAS, nor does it automatically give GRAS status to other uses of caffeine in conventional foods."
Daniels notes caffeine is naturally found in coffee beans and cacao that's used to make chocolate. If caffeine is added to conventional foods, she wrote, it must be declared as an ingredient however the specific amount of caffeine is not required to be declared on labeling.
Frito-Lay spokesperson Chris Kuechenmeister told The Boston Globe in an email the product contains coffee, which naturally has caffeine, and the company expects a 2-ounce serving to contain about 70 milligrams of caffeine.
"Cracker Jack'D is a product line specifically developed for adult consumers and will not be marketed to children," wrote Kuechenmeister. "The package design and appearance are wholly different from Cracker Jack to ensure there is no confusion among consumers."
Calls for tighter regulation of caffeinated products have also come recently with regards to energy drinks.
The FDA told CBS News in a statement Thursday that it is investigating 92 reports of adverse effects from drinking 5-hour Energy shots, including 33 hospitalizations and 13 deaths, as first reported by The New York Times.
In late October, the FDA said it was investigating five deaths and one heart attack tied to Monster Energy drinks since 2004, including the death of a 14-year-old girl Anais Fournier who died after allegedly drinking two Monster beverages within 24 hours.
Popular in Health
- CDC: HPV vaccine reduced disease rates in teen girls 56%
- "Goo" from naked mole rat may protect against cancer
- Parkinson's disease groups offended by Kanye West lyric
- Natura Pet Products recalls dry foods over salmonella
- Skin cancer self-exam: What to look for (PHOTOS)
- Obesity's "disease" risk no secret despite new classification
- Limit food stamps for sodas, 18 mayors ask government
- Japanese "eyeball licking" trend carries blindness risk
Don't get me wrong, caffeine is fine in moderation, but for adults only: http://ephedrinewheretobuy.com/ephedrine-where-to-buy-eca-stacks/coffee-a-true-wonder-drug
Let's be adults for our kids!
This is one more example of micro managing our lives.
They think we are sheep. We are Shepards and Lambs .. the sheep think they won.
I predict nobody will do that and they will sell the stuff and make another fortune to pile on to the fortune they already have. People do not have any control over their children any more since they have started relying on the Public School system to raise them and teach them "values" so it is out of control. So, have fun, Bob Burnitt Ellis County Texas
You're missing hte point of the article and the regulation it casks for. The goal of changing regulations would be to make it possible for you to measure and control your stimulant intake with a reasonable amount of effort. Right now, people have the expectation (correct or not) that if it's not a carbonated or coffee-flavored drink then it has 0 caffeine and chocolate has a negligible amount. Up until now, that has been a pretty good assumption in spite of the occasional coffee cake. People can and do die from stimulant overdoses already and that's without one being added to every food in their diet.
Lack of regulation kills people. Whether it's caffeine overdose via products that never before in human history contained caffeine or allowing chemical factories to dump waste where it seeps into the local water supply. Yes, you could choose to spend your entire life reading whether caffeine is in the brand of bread or milk (definitely don't want to be caffinating your 1-yr old because you made a bad decision) that your local grocery store stocks but you're not going to and the loss of food manufacturers' time from regulatory compliance would be nothing compared to the loss of time from every citizen having to check every single ingredient label for caffeine (and still having no clue how much is in there even if they do find it on the label).
That's the current state of our laws: any solid food can contain any amount of caffeine as long as caffeine is listed in the ingredients and it's not likely to cause death alone (then you'd run into liability for murder/manslaughter).