Home > Blog > Energy Drinks Being Investigated By The FDA

Energy drinks are now as popular and widely available as regular sodas, but they have seven times the amount of caffeine in them as a regular Coca-Cola.  The FDA is now investigating a young girl’s death, which is thought to be related to the consumption of two Monster Energy Drinks.  In addition, there have been five other deaths linked to Monster Energy over the past three years.

A representative for the company denies that the deaths are linked to their products, but the FDA says that it has received numerous reports of issues with the product.  There have been five deaths that have been potentially linked to the drink, in addition to other health problems, such as abdominal pain, vomiting, tremors, and abnormal heart rate.  The FDA also states that these events are likely very underreported, meaning that many more problems are occurring but not being communicated to the FDA.

The FDA began an investigation after the parents of the fourteen-year-old girl who died after drinking two Monster Energy drinks filed a lawsuit against the company claiming that it failed to warn about the risks of its products.

As usual, the FDA has failed to close the loopholes necessary to protect the public, in particular the young people to whom these products are aggressively marketed.  The FDA limits the amount of caffeine that soda can include but has set no such limit on energy drinks.  And the companies that manufacture these products include a recommendation that they are not recommended for children under 12, but the young girl who died from consuming this drink was 14.  Shouldn’t the company be forced to act more responsibly to protect young people from its product?  Why do deaths have to mount before the FDA will act to protect people?  Whether it is with dangerous drugs, or with products that are found in every convenience store, once again, the FDA has failed to act in time.

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/business/fda-receives-death-reports-citing-monster-energy-a-high-caffeine-drink.html

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/health/2012/10/23/monster-energy-drink-linked-to-five-deaths-fda-investigates/