Call for action on energy drinks

State and federal food ministers have called for action on caffeinated energy drinks after NSW findings that most of the drinks exceed the legal limit for caffeine.

The drinks have been associated with recent cases of dizziness and nausea among teenagers.

The food regulation ministerial council has called for a "national compliance strategy" to be developed to regulate caffeinated energy drinks, Fairfax newspapers say.

Preliminary findings of tests on 70 caffeinated energy drinks, published this month by the NSW Food Authority, showed that 77 per cent of the tested drinks were over the legal limit for caffeine and one in three were 16 per cent over the legal limit.

Meeting in Brisbane on Friday, the ministerial council was told of concerns at the number of caffeinated energy drinks on the market and "reports of recent incidents involving their consumption by young people".

The ministers called for a report into the issues raised by the drinks and for options on what action should be taken.

NSW had already removed five of the drinks from the market after finding some of them exceeded the limit by 30 per cent, Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said.

source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/6383531/call-for-action-on-energy-drinks/