Comments on: CSPI Has a Go at Energy Drinks

By: Jason Anders

Jason Anders — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 18:25:23 +0000

I read their opposition (thanks for the link), and they seem like good opposition to me. Some of the examples listed there are pretty eye opening to see how FDA never really does anything for violators.

I am also curious why you have something against CSPI. You could have picked other examples that were much more revealing – instead you picked the above.
Here are two more, which I think shows CSPI has a good reason to challenge these.

• Enviga: This new carbonated drink from a Coca-Cola/Nestle partnership claims that thanks to a combination of caffeine and an antioxidant found in green tea, the product burns more calories than the drink provides and implicitly promotes weight loss. CSPI yesterday notified those companies that it will sue them if they continue to make those claims—which are based on inconsistent, short-term and industry-funded studies.

• DanActive “Immunity” dairy drink: This Dannon product claims to help “strengthen your body’s defenses.” But the only actual study conducted on people found that DanActive didn’t prevent illness, and 25 percent of the participants had to cut their dose in half because they suffered bloating, gas, and nausea.

By: xarexerax

xarexerax — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 21:29:19 +0000

Isn’t this exactly why every can/bottle/etc of all of these products also says on it, “These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA…” etc? That’s there to let us know that they’re just saying what they think of the product — how is it any different than a candy bar that says it’s delicious? What’s the legal definition of “delicious” anyhow?

By: Concerned

Concerned — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 22:45:44 +0000

I am doing a school report on Rockstar what bad ingredients are in it? and how bad are they?

By: Caffeine Fiend

Caffeine Fiend — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 19:21:00 +0000

Partying like a Rockstar? I imagine they would be consuming something a little harder than energy drinks.

By: Hunter

Hunter — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 12:39:31 +0000

Yes… I would be curious of what the legal definition is of partying like a rockstar.

The three-prong test from 1960s case law may not cut it anymore, as the nature of rock and rockstar-dom has drastically changed.

Maybe the cans should be specific about exactly which rockstar you would be partying like. It it’s Scott Stapp, you could just drink a smoothie.

By: Beau

Beau — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 03:00:14 +0000

Is there more than one form of caffeine? I like some of the energy drinks, but regulators should make the beverage companies accountable for “snake oil claims”.

By: phimur

phimur — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 21:59:54 +0000

If they are questioning the effects of the herbal supplements that is not within the bounds of the FDA