- Dubai Struggles to Ease Debt Fears; Investors Rattled
- Japanese Stocks Likely to Fall Broadly on Dubai Worries
- US Dollar Falls to 14-Year Low Against the Yen
- US Companies Already Moving on Curbing Emissions
- Fannie Mae to Tighten Lending Standards: Report
- Investing in Good Karma – and Making a Profit
- Retailers Should Believe in Christmas Miracles
- Bankruptcies Jump, Hitting Highest Level in Four Years
- Steepest Black Friday Discounts, Revealed
- 4 Thanksgiving Week Buys For Your Portfolio: Market Pros
- There's a 'Great Chance' For a Double-Dip Recession: Strategist
- Revenge of the Gangsta Nerds
- Will TCU See The "Flutie Effect?"
- Retail Earnings and Sales to Improve in Q4: Analyst
- Consumers Catching the Holiday Spirit
- It's Beginning To Look A Lot More Riskless
- Crescenzi: Claims Level Suggests End to Job Losses
- Hedge Funds Take Early Lead in Warren Buffett's 'Big Bet'
- Car insurance scofflaws raise health mandate doubt
- Peach farmers block Greek highway
- Perry leads Texas GOP fight against climate bill
- Robotic hamsters are holidays' unlikely new craze
- Bookstore chain Borders UK appoints administrators
- Tommy Hilfiger's estate in Conn. sells for $20M
- Repsol says it will invest $1.5 billion in Bolivia
- Belgium reluctant to renew GM loan offer
- Business software firm RedPrairie files for IPO
Text Size 
WASHINGTON - U.S. health regulators requested information from nearly 30 makers of caffeinated alcoholic beverages on why they believe their products are safe.
Among the companies targeted were Constellation Brands Inc, which makes the drink Wide Eye, and the North American unit of Diageo plc, which makes Smirnoff Raw Tea.
The companies have 30 days to send data showing how caffeine can be "safely and lawfully" added to alcoholic drinks, Joshua Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said on Friday.
The companies did not return calls or emails sent seeking comment.
The FDA took action after 18 attorneys general from states, including New York and Arizona, wrote the agency raising questions about the drinks' safety. A city attorney from San Francisco also signed the letter.
A group of five scientists who study college students' drinking habits also wrote a letter saying there was no evidence to support the claim that caffeine was "generally recognized as safe" for use in alcohol drinks.
"Being wide awake and drunk at the same time increases the risk of engaging in several forms of violent or other high-risk physical behaviors that can cause injury," wrote the scientists, who come from such institutions as Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
The FDA only approves caffeine as an additive for soft drinks and has not approved its use in alcoholic beverages.
In the past year, Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors LCC have agreed to discontinue their caffeinated alcoholic drinks, including Sparks, the FDA said.
Print
Email
- For nearly three decades, these on-call experts have been dishing advice on how to – and not to – cook turkey.
- Ever wished your cab driver would stop nattering and just get to where you're going? Well that moment is near(er).
- Eric Schmidt pledges to create a virtual copy of the Iraq National Museum at Google’s expense.
- Bill Griffeth is taking a leave of absence from CNBC and Power Lunch for a year. Here's a message from Bill.
- More shoppers than ever plan to comparison-shop this season. Who will benefit?
- It may be the most unusual guide to business you'll read.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes