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Provisional Findings by EFSA on the Safety of Caffeine and the Possible Implications on Caffeine Health Claims and Energy Drinks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Blanca Salas  and
Bruno G. Simões
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Abstract

This section aims at updating readers on the latest developments of risk-related aspects of food law at the EU level, giving information on legislation and case law on various matters, such as food safety, new diseases, animal health and welfare and food labelling.

Type
Reports
Information
European Journal of Risk Regulation , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , September 2015 , pp. 431 - 434
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015

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References

1 EFSA NDA Panel (EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies), 2015. Draft Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine, available at http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/consultations/call/150115.pdf (last visited on 31 March 2015).

2 Although this combination is banned in certain jurisdictions, e.g. Finland.

3 EFSA's draft Scientific Opinion was adopted on 23 April 2015.

4 The health claims at hand were, specifically, “caffeine helps to improve concentration”, “caffeine helps to increase alertness”, “caffeine contributes to a reduction in the rated perceived exertion/ effort during endurance exercise”, “caffeine contributes to an increase in endurance performance”, and “caffeine contributes to an increase in endurance performance capacity”.

5 The list of permitted health claims is included in Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 of 16 May 2012 establishing a list of permitted health claims made on foods, other than those referring to the reduction of disease risk and to children's development and health, OJ 2012 L 136/1.

6 European Commission, Summary Report of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health held in Brussels on 10 December 2012 (Section General Food Law).

7 SCF (Scientific Committee on Food), 1999. Opinion on Caffeine, Taurine and D–Glucurono – γ – Lactone as constituents of socalled “energy” drinks.

8 Excluding pregnant women.

9 João Joaquim Breda, Stephen Hugh Whiting, Ricardo Encarnação et al., “Energy drink consumption in Europe: a review of the risks, adverse health effects, and policy options to respond”, Public Health, 14 October 2014, doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2014.00134. Available on the Internet at: http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpubh.2014.00134/full#B10 (last visited on 31 March 2015).

10 Carreño, Ignacio, “Energy Drinks: Stricter Health Warnings on Caffeine Content in the EU and Sales Bans to Minors and New Excise Taxes” 4 European Journal of Risk Regulation 2014, pp. 543 et sqq., at p. 547.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

11 Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Commission Directive 87/250/EEC, Council Directive 90/496/EEC, Commission Directive 1999/10/EC, Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Directives 2002/67/EC and 2008/5/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004, OJ 2011 L 304/18.

12 Except beverages based on coffee, tea or their extracts where the name of the food includes the term ‘coffee’ or ‘tea’, and which: (i) are intended for consumption without modification and contain caffeine, from whatever source, in a proportion in excess of 150 mg/l; or, (ii) are in concentrated or dried form and after reconstitution contain caffeine, from whatever source, in a proportion in excess of 150 mg/l.

13 Law No. XII-885 amending the Food Law No. VIII-1608.

14 In September 2014, France's Constitutional Council declared the tax scheme unconstitutional (with effect from 1 January 2015) by ruling that it failed to observe the principle of equality vis–à–vis other beverages with the same caffeine content.

15 Article 36 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provides that restrictions on grounds of human life and health (inter alia) are allowed as an exception to the prohibition of quantitative restrictions and measure having an equivalent effect set out in Articles 34 and 35 TFEU, provided that certain conditions are met.

16 Such as the French ANSES (Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail) and the German BfR (Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung).