Two weeks after Michigan’s ban on the sale of alcoholic energy drinks, the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, declared the products contain an additive unsafe for consumption.
After a scientific review, the FDA made its decision Wednesday and sent warning letters to the four producers that offer alcoholic energy drinks: Phusion Projects LLC, which sells Four Loko; United Brands Company Inc., which makes Joose and Max; Charge Beverages Corp., which produces several varieties of a drink called Core; and New Century Brewing Co. LLC, which concocts a beer called Moonshot.
According to the FDA, the letters informed the manufacturers that the products violate the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Each company has 15 days to respond with the steps it plans to take to correct the problem. After 15 days, the FDA can take further action, possibly including seizure of the product.
“(The) FDA wrote a strong emergency consensus that caffeine and alcohol has not been proven to be safe but rather possess a serious public health threat,” FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein said. “Caffeine can mask some of the senses individuals rely on to determine level of intoxication.”
In advance of the FDA’s announcement, Phusion announced it intends to remove Four Loko’s energy additives — caffeine, guarana and taurine. However, the company maintained the products always have been safe.
“If it were unsafe, popular drinks like rum and colas or Irish coffees that have been consumed safely and responsibly for years would face the same scrutiny that our products have recently faced,” co-founders and managing partners Chris Hunter, Jeff Wright and Jaisen Freeman said in a statement. “We are taking this step after trying — unsuccessfully — to navigate a difficult and politically-charged regulatory environment at both the state and federal levels.”
On Nov. 3, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission declared the drinks unsafe and gave a 30-day timeline for their removal from shelves. Crispin Merkel, manager of Spartan Spirits, 221 Ann St., said he is not surprised this ban was extended to the national level.
The store sells 30 to 40 cases of 12 cans of Four Loko each “football week,” and smaller quantities of Joose, Merkel said. Since Michigan prohibited the drinks, the store built up its supply in advance of the 30-day deadline and has not yet run out, he said.
“Once we heard of the ban, we stocked up quite a bit on (Four Loko) so we could get through the month with an increase in sales,” Merkel said. “People come in buying three, four (cases) at a time.”
Banning the drinks oversteps the government’s bounds, hospitality business senior Chelsey Nowak said.
“I drink them — they’re delicious,” Nowak said. “But (the FDA) shouldn’t concern themselves with it. … It’s people’s own decision.”
But hospitality business senior Cameron Wingfield said he finds the drinks unappetizing and does not mind the ban.
“I hate them,” Wingfield said. “I think they’re disgusting. So it’s fine with me that they got rid of them.”
Staff writer Laura Fosmire contributed to this report.
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