Market

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

CAFFEINE AND ALCOHOL IN ENERGY DRINKS-HOOKING THE CONSUMER!


For succeeding in the market, management pundits do not consider any means as unfair. To some extent playing around with the economic quality of a product can be tolerated, but when it comes to consumer safety blatant violations should never be condoned. Money cannot be more precious than lives of human beings and those who opt for "money at any cost" deserve to be accorded the severest forms of punishment that exist in the statute book. With food safety issues bedeviling every country, it is time the vested agencies overhaul their surveillance and punishment protocols with no mercy on defaulters.

"The Food and Drug Administration is challenging makers of alcohol-infused energy drinks to prove their beverages are safe, citing complaints that the products can cause risky behavior and injury. The FDA issued a letter Friday to 30 beverage manufacturers, giving them 30 days to provide evidence that the combination of caffeine and alcohol is safe. FDA has listed caffeine only as an ingredient for use in soft drinks. The agency has not approved caffeine for use in alcoholic beverages. FDA officials stressed they have not reached a conclusion about the safety of beverages like Joose and Charge. Instead they are questioning the companies' legal rationale for marketing the products. There are some unusual safety questions raised by the addition of caffeine to these alcoholic beverages. So the burden is on the companies to provide evidence that supports the conclusion this use is safe."

First of all the so called energy drinks, atrociously priced, attractively branded and promoted heavily, should have no place in the menu of a normal healthy person. After all the energy is derived in these drinks from sugar which is one of the cheapest commodities in the global market. Adding alcohol and caffeine to such ridiculous drinks in the name of value addition and better "performance" cannot be considered logical. It is puzzling as to why the authorities tolerated these products for so long!

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

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