Energy drinks have been sold and safely consumed for several decades and are available in more than 170 countries, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and all Member States of the European Union.
Like many beverages, energy drinks are sold in a range of package sizes. Regardless of the size, most mainstream energy drinks have a caffeine concentration of about 10 mg/fl oz, which is comparable to a cup of home-brewed coffee. Thus, typical 8 fl oz, 12 fl oz and 16 fl oz cans of energy drinks contain 80 mg, 120 mg and 160 mg of caffeine, respectively. In fact, most mainstream energy drinks contain about half the caffeine of a similar-sized cup of coffeehouse coffee you’d find at the corner coffeeshop. For example, a 16 ounce energy drink typically contains about 160 mg of caffeine while the same size coffeehouse coffee contains about 330 mg.
REGULATION OF ENERGY DRINKS IN THE U.S.
Like other foods and beverages sold in the United States, energy drinks and their ingredients are regulated by regulatory authorities. Energy drinks manufactured or distributed by American Beverage Association (ABA) member companies are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).”
In the U.S., FDA has not imposed any specific restrictions or requirements on the sale or labeling of energy drinks beyond what is required for other conventional foods and beverages. Even so, the leading energy drink companies that sell, market and/or distribute energy drinks voluntarily go above and beyond mandatory requirements by complying with the ABA Guidance for the Responsible Labeling and Marketing of Energy Drinks, which can be found here.