WASHINGTON, May 1, 2013 – With a growing number of food companies adding caffeine to everything from candy to potato chips and now chewing gum, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to review the potential impact of the stimulant on human health, especially young children.
"The only time that FDA explicitly approved the added use of caffeine in a food was for cola and that was in the 1950s. Today, the environment has changed,” noted Michael R. Taylor, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, in a statement
“Children and adolescents may be exposed to caffeine beyond those foods in which caffeine is naturally found and beyond anything FDA envisioned when it made the determination regarding caffeine in cola.
“For that reason, FDA is taking a fresh look at the potential impact that the totality of new and easy sources of caffeine may have on health, particularly vulnerable populations such as children and youth, and if necessary, will take appropriate action," he explained.
FDA officials are looking at whether to require warning labels on certain products and potentially, placing limits on food manufacturers who want to add caffeine to certain food products.
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