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Following is a question by the Hon Alan Leong and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (December 19):
Question:
In recent years, there has been an increasing number of types of energy drinks on sale in the market, and as there is no legislation regulating the sale of energy drinks at present, members of the public can buy such drinks at any time in any place. Some students have relayed to me that they generally consume huge quantities of energy drinks during examinations for energy enhancing effect, and this trend has aroused concerns. According to the information from the Centre for Food Safety, there have been cases of cardiac dysrhythmia, seizures, kidney failure, and fatalities, as reported in foreign countries from time to time, which were suspected to be caused by the consumption of energy drinks, and quite a number of cases of adverse body reaction were associated with improper ways of consuming energy drinks (e.g. taking energy drinks with alcoholic drinks or in excess of the recommended quantities). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it had conducted studies in the past five years on regulating the composition and sale of energy drinks; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(b) it had considered introducing legislation to regulate the composition and sale of energy drinks in the past five years and conducting public consultation in this regard; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(c) it has compiled statistics on the sales turnover of energy drinks in each of the past five years and their market share in the beverage market; if it has, set out the statistics in table form; if not, whether it will consider compiling the relevant statistics;
(d) it has considered providing the public with health guidelines on the consumption of energy drinks, e.g. the maximum daily intake of caffeine for children under 12 years of age, pregnant women, people suffering from heart disease and hypertension; and
(e) it will step up publicity in the media on the possible impact of energy drinks on the health of the public; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
It is often claimed that energy drinks are able to achieve an energy enhancing effect by stimulating the nervous system. They are generally non-alcoholic beverages but may contain ingredients such as caffeine, taurine, glucuronolactone and B vitamins, etc.
Taurine is a kind of amino acid found in natural food and can be produced by human bodies. Consuming food containing taurine is generally safe. However, a study on animals indicated that a very high intake of taurine might affect the behaviour of animals (e.g. increased activity).
Glucuronolactone is a carbohydrate which can also be produced by human bodies. Consuming food containing glucuronolactone is generally safe. According to the research data currently available, no evidence shows that glucuronolactone can cause adverse health effects.
The caffeine content in a can of energy drink is about the same as that of a cup of coffee. Except for caffeine which may cause adverse effects such as nervousness or anxiety in children or people who are sensitive to caffeine, no evidence shows that any other ingredients in energy drinks can cause serious health effects.
My reply to the question is as follows:
(a) Although the Government has not conducted any study on the sale of energy drinks in recent years, it has gathered some information on their composition. In November 2002, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) carried out a study in collaboration with the Consumer Council to find out the caffeine content in prepackaged non-alcoholic beverages (including energy drinks) available in the Hong Kong market. The findings showed that among the five major categories of drinks covered in the study, coffee had the highest median caffeine content (475 mg/L), followed by energy drinks (180 mg/L). An overseas country recommends that for adults, the maximum daily intake of caffeine should be 400 mg. However, given the relatively small package size of energy drinks (50 ml to 500 ml), normal consumption should not result in excessive intake of caffeine.
Besides, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of FEHD takes food samples (including energy drinks) at import, wholesale and retail levels for microbiological, chemical and radiological testing under the Food Surveillance Programme to ensure that all food for sale in Hong Kong is fit for human consumption and complies with the legal requirements. CFS adopts a risk-based approach in determining the types of food samples to be collected, the frequency and number of samples for testing, and the types of laboratory analyses to be conducted. The sampling programme is under regular review, taking into account factors such as past food surveillance results, local and overseas food incidents as well as relevant risk analyses. CFS tests about 65 000 food samples every year. Since 2010, it has taken 24 samples of energy drinks for various kinds of testing, the results of which were all satisfactory. Following the media report in October this year that a teenage girl in the United States died last year after consuming nearly 1.5 litres of an energy drink, CFS immediately took samples of energy drink products of the same brand on sale in the local market for testing, and found that their caffeine contents were comparable to those of coffee beverages.
Up till now, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet reached a conclusion in respect of the case. No official announcement has been made to confirm that there is a causal relationship between the energy drink concerned and the death. Nevertheless, we will closely monitor and follow up on the development of the case, and liaise with FDA accordingly.
(b) On the international front, there are currently no standards set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for energy drinks. In Hong Kong, Section 54 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) stipulates that all food for sale (including energy drinks) must be fit for human consumption. The Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap. 132W) also stipulates that prepackaged food (including energy drinks) shall be marked or labelled with a list of ingredients . The ingredients shall be listed in descending order of weight or volume determined as at the time of their use when the food was packaged. Consumers can find out the composition of a prepackaged food (such as whether caffeine is added) from the list of ingredients on the food label and make an informed choice. As these requirements have already provided consumers of energy drinks with a certain degree of protection, the Government has not considered introducing additional legislation to regulate the composition and sale of energy drinks in the past five years.
(c) The Government has not compiled any statistics on the sales turnover of energy drinks and their market share in the beverage market in the past five years.
(d) At present, international food safety authorities, such as the Joint Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations/World Health Organisation Expert Committee on Food Additives, have not set any safety reference value, such as recommended acceptable daily intake, for caffeine. Different countries/regions may give different recommendations on caffeine intake for different groups of people. For example, it is recommended that the daily intake of caffeine for pregnant or lactating women should not exceed 200-300 mg whereas the daily intake for children below 12 should not exceed 2.5-3.0 mg/kg body weight, etc.
According to the European Union Scientific Committee on Food, the adverse health effects caused by energy drinks may be due to the interactions between constituents in energy drinks, alcohol and exercise. These interactions may affect the central nervous system (e.g. reducing the consumer's awareness of alcohol intoxication), the kidney (e.g. increasing water and sodium loss from the body in the short term) and the cardiovascular system (e.g. altering the heart rate and blood pressure in the short term). These effects may pose health risks to consumers. In recent years, there have been cases of cardiac dysrhythmia, seizures, kidney failure and fatalities with a possible link to the consumption of energy drinks reported in different countries. These incidents may involve the over-consumption of energy drinks or consumption of energy drinks in conjunction with alcoholic beverages, etc.
As such, consumers are advised to follow a balanced diet and refrain from drinking excessive amounts of caffeine drinks, including energy drinks. When consuming energy drinks, they should note the manufacturer's suggestion on intake level on the label to avoid over-consumption. Energy drinks should not be consumed along with other substances that affect the functioning of the central nervous system (such as alcohol or medication with an effect on the central nervous system). Pregnant and lactating women, children and individuals sensitive to caffeine should also refrain from consuming energy drinks.
(e) CFS disseminates food safety messages through its website, publications and Announcements of Public Interest on television and radio regularly. CFS provided information on energy drinks in its "Risk in Brief" on its website in October this year and covered the same topic in its monthly publication "Food Safety Focus" in November, with a view to enabling the public and the trade to have a better understanding of energy drinks.
Ends/Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:01
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