September Nutrition, Health and Diet Alert

Write the FDA in Support of Caffeine Labeling

CSPI is urging concerned citizens to write the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in support of our campaign to provide consumers with quantitative information about the caffeine content of foods and beverages. Contact the FDA and ask them to require that caffeine content be disclosed prominently on food labels of products that contain significant amounts of caffeine.

Caffeine poses a health risk to millions of Americans, especially women who are or might become pregnant. Caffeine increases the risks of infertility, miscarriage, and impaired fetal growth. It also affects bone health, exacerbating the low calcium intakes of women and teenagers, and increases the risk of osteoporosis. Additionally, millions of Americans experience unpleasant behavioral effects from caffeine such as addiction, withdrawal, anxiety, and sleeplessness.

As caffeinated products become more prevalent, and the marketing of those products to children increases, consumers need more information to take charge of their own and their family's health. Caffeine can show up in some surprising places and the caffeine content of similar types of products can vary widely. For example, some coffee yogurts have as much caffeine as half a cup of instant coffee, while others contain no caffeine. Consumers have a right to easy access to information about the caffeine content of foods so that they can make informed choices.

What You Can Do

Sincerely,

Patricia B. Lieberman, Ph.D.
Senior Science Policy Fellow

Points to make in your letter to the FDA on quantitative caffeine labeling.

• The FDA advises pregnant women to avoid caffeine, or consume it only sparingly.

Caffeine reduces the chance of getting pregnant. One study showed that the chances of taking more than a year to conceive are nearly five-times higher in women who consume more than 100 mg of caffeine per day than for women who drink less.

Caffeine increases the risk of miscarriage. Consuming more than 300 mg of caffeine may contribute to as many as 14% of miscarriages in the U.S.

Caffeine inhibits fetal growth and decreases a baby's birth weight. Low birth weight increases a baby's risk of illness and death.

• Caffeine exacerbates the low calcium intakes of American women and teenagers, and increases the risk of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis causes 300,000 hip fractures among Americans, and costs $14 billion annually.

• American children are consuming more soft drinks than ever, and many of them contain caffeine. Teenage boys drink twice as much soda as milk, and teenage girls drink 50% more. Soft drink consumption has the largest impact on adequacy of calcium in the diets of American children.

• Caffeine causes adverse behavioral effects, such as restlessness, addiction, anxiety, and sleeplessness. People who halt their daily caffeine consumption often experience withdrawal symptoms.

• Consumers have the right to know the caffeine content of foods and beverages. Urge the FDA to:

require companies to provide quantitative caffeine information on nutrition labels.

conduct a study of caffeine's effects on health and behavior to determine if other regulatory or educational effort should be undertaken.

• Please address your letter to:

Re: Docket #97P-0329

Or fax your letter to Dr. Friedman at 301-443-3100.

Nutrition Action Network

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