Six brands of caffeinated drinks have been recalled in Canada, including a popular energy beverage being promoted by social media influencers.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued a recall notice late Wednesday for Prime Energy, as well as products from 3D Alphaland, 5 Hour Energy, Celsius, GFuel and Sting.
"The affected products are being recalled from the marketplace due to various non-compliances related to caffeine content and labelling requirements," the CFIA said in a recall warning posted on its site.
All the drinks have been sold nationally and online, it said.
Prime Energy has been in the spotlight because it was co-founded by social media stars Logan Paul and KSI, who have millions of young fans.
Health Canada has said that at 200 milligrams of caffeine per can, Prime Energy exceeds the acceptable caffeine limit of 180 mg per serving and should not be sold.
Prime Energy is different from its widely available non-caffeinated and bottled version, Prime Hydration.
Caffeinated energy drinks are considered supplemented food and are therefore regulated by the CFIA, which also cited all six beverages for not including English and French on their labels. Sting has only Vietnamese characters.
All the caffeinated energy drinks are among multiple other brands of energy drinks popular among children and teens.
Health Canada recommends a maximum of 2.5 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight for youth up to age 18.
By comparison, a can of Coke has 34 mgs of caffeine, six timesless thanthe amount in a serving of Prime Energy.
Calgary dietitian Jennifer House said parents are often concerned about their kids consuming too much sugar.
But she said caffeinated drinks could be a bigger problem because very young kids, like her nine-year-old son, are being bombarded by ads for Prime Energy when they watch online videos.
House said parents should talk to their children about the negative effects of caffeine, including sleep disturbances, but that's all the more challenging with teens, including her 16-year-old son, because they tend to be out on their own and follow what their friends are doing.
"They're making their own choices so it's not really something you can control. So then we have to leave it up to Health Canada to rein this in a little bit," she said, adding the choice of energy drinks in general seems endless.
"When my son was in Grade 10 he said the vending machines in high school are filled with energy drinks."
The CFIA said in its recall warning that anyone who becomes sick from drinking one of the caffeinated beverages should contact a health-care provider.
High levels of caffeine could also affect pregnant people and those who are breastfeeding.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2023.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
Camille Bains, The Canadian Press
