A newly-popular sports energy drink is all the rage with kids and teens. But PRIME’s caffeine content is making it an enemy with parents, schools and medical professionals.
On Sunday, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer called for an investigation from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
“One of the summer’s hottest status symbols for kids is not an outfit, or a toy – it’s a beverage – but buyers and parents beware because it’s a serious health concern for the kids it so feverishly targets,” Schumer said.
YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI launched the energy drink – which boasts 200 mg of caffeine per can – last year. The drink is regularly seen on social media sites, like TikTok, and is already “surpassing some of the biggest beverage companies in the world,” according to its website. And the beverage company is expected to sign a contract with FC Barcelona, after its contract with Gatorade ended last month, and is now the official sports drink for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But the drink’s popularity among minors is troubling considering that it contains twice the daily recommended amount of caffeine for those ages 12 to 18, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Medical professionals in the U.S., U.K. and Australia are warning parents about the energy drink while some schools are banning it from campuses altogether. One child in Wales reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest shortly after drinking it.
In a letter to the FDA’s commissioner, Schumer asked the department to investigate the energy drink “for its claims, marketing and caffeine content.”
“The website features insufficient warnings about caffeine content, despite the eye-popping amount,” Schumer wrote in the letter. “Again, I urge your agency to investigate PRIME for its overall claims, its marketing and the caffeine content, and to seriously consider PRIME’s target market of children as part of any investigation.”
Both representatives for PRIME and the…
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