Caffeine content leads to concerns
The makers of the Red Bull energy drink have been forced to reformulate the beverage for the Turkish market to meet the country’s ban on high caffeine energy drinks.
The makers of the Red Bull energy drink have been forced to reformulate the beverage for the Turkish market to meet the country’s ban on high caffeine energy drinks.
A spokesperson for Red Bull said the firm was disappointed that Turkey had not followed the European Union’s example of just requiring drinks, except tea and coffee, containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre to state ‘high caffeine content’ on the label.
But despite the company’s assurance that its drink is safe, Turkey, instead, banned the sale of energy drinks containing caffeine above this level.
At the request of the Turkish authorities, Red Bull on sale in Turkey has the
caffeine level reduced to just under half of the amount that is accepted in more than 130 countries around the world. One can of Red Bull normally contains around 80mg of caffeine.
Red Bull is already banned in France because of concerns about its high caffeine content, and a need to study two ingredients – taurine and glucuronolactone – that are used in the drink.
In a recent study, US-based researcher Dr Bruce Goldberger said that all drinks containing caffeine should display the caffeine content on their labels.“In certain
people, consumption of caffeine causes serious health effects, such as anxiety, palpitations, irritability, difficulty sleeping and stomach complaints, he said.
