DERBYSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL. Meeting with Cabinet Member - Communities. Report of the Strategic Director Cultural and Community Services

Transcription

1 DERBYSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL Meeting with Cabinet Member - Communities 6 December 2010 Report of the Strategic Director Cultural and Community Services THE CAFFEINE CONTENT OF HIGH ENERGY DRINKS 1. Purpose of Report: To inform the Cabinet Member; Communities of a recent project to assess the levels of compliance with a voluntary code of practice on the labelling and promotion of food products particularly high energy drinks - with high levels of caffeine. 2. Information and Analysis: 2.1 One of the features of Trading Standards is the variety and diverse nature of the work carried out. It is often necessary to compliment the core work of the service by concentrating efforts and resources into particular fields of activity in response to information gathered locally or nationally. Trading Standards projects identify areas of work where local, regional and/or national concerns may have been raised, and may involve the monitoring of trading practices, product sampling, inspection of businesses, investigation, research, education and awareness etc. 2.2 Energy drinks are generally drinks with high caffeine levels that are claimed by the manufacturer to give more energy than a typical soft drink. The caffeine levels in energy drinks vary, but there is usually about 80 milligrams (mg) of caffeine in a small 250ml can the same as three cans of cola or a small mug of coffee. The table below gives information provided by the Food Standards Agency 1 - on typical levels of caffeine. Mug of filter coffee Mug of instant coffee Can of energy drink high in caffeine Mug of tea Small bar of chocolate Can of cola 140 mg 100 mg 80 mg 75 mg 50 mg 40 mg 2.3 The Scientific Committee on Food has considered the effects of caffeine intake and has noted that high levels of caffeine could result in transient behavioural changes, such as increased arousal, irritability, nervousness or anxiety in some people. A recent American study has also suggested 1 Food Standards Agency: Tscm 165c Caffiene levels High Energy drinks - 6th December

2 that regularly consuming high-caffeine energy drinks significantly increases the risk of becoming alcohol dependent and engaging in bouts of heavy drinking The effects are likely to be most pronounced in those that are not regular consumers of caffeine and/or children because of their relatively low body mass and could be harmful to pregnant women or those known to be sensitive to caffeine. 2.5 European Union labelling rules, which came into force in 2002, require that drinks containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre (mg/l) be labelled high caffeine content in the same field of vision as the name of the food and be accompanied by an indication of the amount of caffeine per 100ml in the product. In April this year the British Soft Drinks Association a trade body representing manufacturers of soft drinks announced a voluntary Code of Practice 3 for High Caffeine Content Soft Drinks. The Code recommends that the following additional advice be provided on product labelling: Not suitable for children, pregnant women and persons sensitive to caffeine This information should appear prominently on product labelling and on company websites where the product is featured. The Code also states that such drinks; should not be advertised, marketed or promoted to those under The purpose of this project was to ascertain whether local retailers would refrain from selling high energy drinks to young people under 16 and to assess whether the additional product information was being made available in accordance with the (voluntary) Code of Practice. 2.7 As with other age restricted products, the Division enlisted the support of two volunteers both aged just under 14. Thirty attempted test purchases were made from retailers throughout Derbyshire which resulted in 27 sales a 90% failure rate. The three traders that declined to sell did so having asked the volunteers how old they were and then explaining that they had to be 16 to purchase high energy drinks. It was evident that three other retailers had an awareness of the Code of Practice as the following was observed: A notice on the door stating that children under 16 will not be served high caffeine drinks; A handwritten statement on the price label Over 14 s only ; and 2 As reported in The Independent, 17 th November 2010: 3 BSDA Code of Practice for High Caffeine Content Soft Drinks Tscm 165c Caffiene levels High Energy drinks - 6th December

3 In one store despite the volunteer being asked her age and replying that she was 13, the salesperson stated that high energy drinks were only suitable for certain ages but continued to sell the product different drinks were purchased and all complied with the legal labelling requirements as they were correctly identified as having High Caffeine Content. However, nine of the drinks (32%) did not comply fully with the Code of Practice. Six drinks did not state that they were unsuitable for pregnant women; one did not state that it was not suitable for young children; and two did not have any additional warnings. Further details of the project are contained in the appendix. 2.9 There is no legal obligation for either the manufacturers or retailers of high energy drinks to comply with the Code of Practice. There is also some ambiguity as to whether the Code is intended to restrict sales of high energy drinks as it refers to the advertising, marketing and promotion of such drinks. However, it is of concern that there would appear to be a lack of awareness of the Code and as a consequence, it seems that this particular product is widely available to young people in Derbyshire. 3. Other Consideration: In preparing this report the relevance of the following factors has been considered; financial, legal, prevention of crime and disorder, equality of opportunity; and environmental, health, human resources, property and transport considerations. 4. Background Papers: None 5. Key Decision: No 6. Call-in: Is it required that call-in be waived for any decision on this report? No 7. Strategic Director's recommendation: That the Cabinet Member; Communities notes the content of the report and endorses appropriate media publicity for the completed project. Martin Molloy Strategic Director Cultural and Community Services Tscm 165c Caffiene levels High Energy drinks - 6th December

4 Caffeine Awareness Raising Project 2010/11 Appendix Outline & background to project A test purchasing exercise to ascertain whether traders in the area of Derbyshire will sell high caffeine content soft drinks to young persons under the age of 16 years following the introduction of an industry association Code of Practice to self-regulate and market/retail these products responsibly. To raise public awareness of the access to these products by children. High Caffeine content soft drinks are defined by Commission Directive 2002/67/EC of 18 July 2002 on the labelling of foodstuffs containing caffeine and require that beverages containing caffeine, from whatever source, in an amount in excess of 150mg/litre must carry the message High Caffeine Content on the label in the same field of vision as product name and must be followed by the caffeine content expressed in mg/100ml. In April 2010, the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) launched an industry-wide Code of Practice (CoP) for high caffeine content soft drinks which aims to show that the industry is strengthening its commitment to informing consumer choice about the drinks that are suitable for children. The CoP recommends additional labelling on products in particular a statement Not suitable for children, pregnant women and persons sensitive to caffeine. This advice should appear prominently on product labelling and on company websites where the product is featured. In addition the CoP requires that high caffeine content soft drinks should not be advertised, marketed or promoted to persons under the age of 16. Justification for project: Raise public and retailer awareness. There is concern amongst health professionals, youth workers, teachers and parents that the effects of drinking high caffeine soft drinks on young people who have mental health or behaviour issues are noticeably becoming more uncontrolled and erratic. The drinks can be attributed to causing disruption in the classroom, antisocial behaviour and the cause of tooth decay. The drinks are being used by young persons as a way to get a legal high and a cool status symbol because the packaging resembles beer and cider cans. It is believed that the effects on young persons consuming excessive amounts of energy drinks containing high caffeine content are similar to those of amphetamines, (twitching, paranoia and aggressiveness) including suffering withdrawal symptoms when trying to limit their intake. Activities Undertaken: A test purchasing exercise was undertaken over a two-day period targeting a range of retail premises, including large national chains and small independent stores. The same young (female) persons were used for the test purchase exercise on both days. Both volunteers were aged 13 years 10 months on the day of the test purchase. A total of 30 premises in the areas of Amber Valley, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Dales, Erewash, North East Derbyshire, were visited and attempts were made to purchase high caffeine content soft drinks. Tscm 165c Caffiene levels High Energy drinks - 6th December

5 Test purchasing results (10 & 11/08/2010) Total test purchase attempts /premises visited 30 Number of sales 27 (90%) Number of different products purchased 28 Test Results There were only three refusals in total for the whole project. In each of these shops the salesperson asked the volunteers how old they were and then told the volunteers they had to be 16 to buy the products. The following observations of note were made at three of the premises which made sales: a) One shop had a notice on the door stating that children under 16 will not be served high caffeine drinks b) One shop had a handwritten statement on the price label Over 14 s only c) In one shop the volunteer was asked how old she was, the volunteer stated: 13. The salesperson stated that they were high energy drinks and only suitable for certain ages but continued to sell the product. Labelling Requirement Results As a result of the 30 test purchases, 28 different drinks were obtained and these were all examined for labelling requirements (Directive 2002/67/EC) by officers from the trading standards division. All were all found to comply with this requirement and bore the required High Caffeine Content statement. Results for compliance with the BSCA Code Of Practice All the 28 products test purchased were checked for compliance with the code of practice. Two of the products did not have the additional advice recommended by the Code Of Practice. Both of these products were manufactured by Red Bull who is the market leader. The only warning on their label was Store out of reach of young children. Seven products had only part of the advice: six of these did not mention that they were not suitable for pregnant women; one did not mention that they were not suitable for children. Website Check for compliance Results All the products purchased were checked against the manufacturer s websites to ascertain whether the BSCA code of practice warning statement was present. The following products had warnings on the website: Rockstar Energy - AG Barr PLC Lucozade Alert plus - Glaxo Smith Kline Group Blue Bolt - Sainsburys own brand product only. Hell Energy drink had none (states you should always read the label and not rely on information on the website) Kx Tesco s own brand only. Other caffeine drinks sold have no warning statement The remaining products that where purchased had either no warning statement or no website available. Sample Analysis Five samples were selected and sent to Leicestershire Scientific Services for checks on labelling requirement in conjunction with analysis of the caffeine content. To date, one Tscm 165c Caffiene levels High Energy drinks - 6th December

6 sample has been reported as correct. Conclusion There is little evidence on the basis of this survey that the BSDA Code of Practice is limiting the availability of high caffeine drinks to young persons. Any confidence assured to the parents and the wider community that soft drinks manufacturers are regulating the availability of their products recognising they are unsuitable for under 16 s is not based on the real-life situation. TB EO Date: 6 October 2010 Tscm 165c Caffiene levels High Energy drinks - 6th December