Collegiate Times

Joose cans in the refrigerator at Kroger.

Virginia Tech officials are enthusiastic about Food and Drug Administration action which could regulate caffeinated alcohol drinks.

In a phone call to reporters Wednesday afternoon, the FDA and Federal Trade Commission announced they were sending letters to four companies who make the controversial beverages.

The FDA’s letter will focus on the addition of caffeine as an “unsafe food additive”, while the FTC’s letter will claim the marketing of the drinks may constitute deceptive practices.

The four companies receiving letters are United Brands Co., which produces Joose and Max; Phusion Products LLC, which sells Four Loko and Four Maxed drinks; Charge Beverages Corporation, which sells Core High Gravity, Core Spiked, and El Jefe drinks; and New Century Brewing Company, which sells Moonshot.

The companies will have 15 days to respond to the letters.

The announcement comes as caffeinated alcoholic beverages fall under increased scrutiny from state authorities. The drinks have been banned in New York, Washington, Utah, Michigan and Oklahoma in recent weeks.

Virginia’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Monday issued a letter to retailers advising caution when selling the drinks, stressing that consumption by underage consumers was “a serious threat to public
safety.”

Philip Bogenberger, a spokesperson for Virginia ABC, could not confirm if federal regulators had talked with the department about the drinks.

The drinks have also raised issues on the Tech campus.

Steve Clarke, director of Tech’s Campus Alcohol Abuse Prevention Center, said as many as 70 to 80 percent of alcohol-related cases going through Tech’s judicial system involve consumption of a caffeinated alcohol drink.

“The biggest issue is the amount of caffeine and alcohol in one can,” Clarke said.

In a factsheet compiled by the center, a can of popular drink Four Loko has an alcohol level equivalent to 5.6 beers and enough caffeine for either five cups of coffee or three to four cans of soda.

The discussion of state and federal action has prompted some makers of the popular style of drink to pull caffeine from their products. Phusion Products LLC, creator of Four Loko, announced in a release Tuesday evening it will pull caffeine from its products and will only offer a noncaffeinated version of the drink.

“We have repeatedly contended — and still believe, as do many people throughout the country — that the combination of alcohol and caffeine is safe,” said the statement from company co-founders Chris Hunter, Jeff Wright and Jaisen Freeman.

“If it were unsafe, popular drinks like rum and colas or Irish coffees that have been consumed safely and responsibly for years would face the same scrutiny that our products have recently faced,” the statement said.

United Brands, maker of Joose, also released a statement Monday saying it would work with regulators “to ensure that factual information is available to consumers and regulators everywhere.”

The move is similar to one made by Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors, companies that pulled caffeine from their Tilt and Sparks drinks, respectively.

The move comes after several studies described the risks from the drink.

A 2007 study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine found students consuming energy drinks with alcohol were more likely to be injured, be involved in nonconsensual sex or ride with a drunken driver.

A version of this article appeared in the Nov 18 issue of the Collegiate Times.