NSW leads on energy drink review

23 October 2009

The NSW Government has secured a national agreement to address the significant compliance problems with high-caffeine energy drinks, Minister for Primary Industries Ian Macdonald said today.

The Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council meeting in Brisbane today agreed to a proposal championed by NSW to develop a national compliance plan.

"NSW has taken a strong leadership role on this issue and has already done a lot of work in assessing 85 energy drinks to determine their caffeine levels," Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said.

"The NSW Government believes this is especially important and relevant in protecting the health and wellbeing of younger members of our community who tend to consume energy drinks.

"It’s simply unacceptable that these products, clearly marketed at youths, have appeared in the market so the Government has taken action," Mr Macdonald said.

Mr Macdonald said the NSW Food Authority had conducted a thorough investigation into energy drinks and found that 77 per cent of those on sale exceed the legal caffeine content limit.

"Some of these drinks exceed the legal limit by more than 30 per cent," Mr Macdonald said.

"NSW has already been successful in removing five of these drinks from the market but this is a national problem because the drinks are manufactured and sold across Australia.

"So I’m glad there was agreement among ministers to take a national, systematic approach to non-compliance in this rapidly expanding market.

The Ministerial Council meeting today also agreed that consideration of all the issues relating to so-called "energy drinks" raised by NSW should proceed.

The results of these investigations and potential solutions will be presented to the next Ministerial Council meeting.

"I am pleased that my ministerial counterparts agreed on a course of action across seven states and territories and New Zealand.

"This will mean that the Ministerial Council will be in a position to take appropriate action to address the potential health risks associated with consumption of these beverages," Mr Macdonald said.

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