Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will take steps to reduce sales of highly caffeinated drinks to children.

Jane Ellison

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has advised us that the safety of caffeine has been reviewed by the European Food Safety Authority, which specified a level of caffeine for children and adolescents which does not raise safety concerns. For a 10-year-old child this is equivalent to the amount of caffeine in one 250 ml can of high caffeine drink.

The FSA does not collect data on the sale of high caffeine drinks and has no plans to restrict the sale of these drinks to children. However, the FSA advises that children and other people who are sensitive to caffeine should consume caffeine only in moderation. High caffeine drinks must be labelled with an advisory statement that they are not recommended for children.