The FDA says that dietary supplements that contain pure or highly concentrated caffeine in powder or liquid form are “considered unlawful” when sold to consumers in bulk quantities.
Just a single teaspoon of a powdered pure caffeine product can contain around 3,200 mg of caffeine, which can be life-threatening to adults and children if consumed.
In the last few years, caffeine-containing supplements have been the cause of at least 2 deaths in the US. Therefore, the agency has published new guidance warning people about the health hazards associated with dietary supplements containing pure or highly concentrated caffeine.
The agency has also vowed to move forward with the removal of these products from the shelves if they are found to put consumers at risk.
“Despite multiple actions against these products in the past, we’ve seen a continued trend of products containing highly concentrated or pure caffeine being marketed directly to consumers as dietary supplements and sold in bulk quantities, with up to thousands of recommended servings per container,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, said in a statement.
