Energy Drinks Could Pose Health Risk for Children

EMSL Analytical provides nutritional labeling services for the food industry.

WEBWIRE – Wednesday, November 7, 2012

According to the Huffington Post, new studies show that energy drinks have no benefits for children and may actually be dangerous for their hearts. In addition to caffeine, the energy drinks contain chemicals such as guarana, taurine, L-carntiine, ginseng, and yohimbine. The combination of these chemicals with caffeine has not yet been thoroughly examined.

The parents of a young girl, who died in 2011 after consuming two 24-ounce Monster Energy drinks, have filed a lawsuit against the company. The U.S. Food and Drug administration (FDA) has received reports of five deaths since 2009 that may be linked to these energy drinks.

Caffeine and the other compounds in these energy drinks have been found to increase heart rate and blood pressure. Further evidence shows that these compounds can slow blood flow through the coronary arteries causing the heart muscle to receive less oxygen and nutrients.

The company has not disclosed caffeine levels according to the New York Times. However, the product’s labels advice consumers not to drink over three 16-ounce cans or two 24-ounce cans within 24 hours.

“The American Academy of Pediatrics has suggested that children should limit their caffeine intake to 100 milligrams per day, which is the amount of caffeine in an 8-ounce cup of coffee,” states Shannon Kauffman, Food Chemistry Laboratory Manager at EMSL, a leading national food testing lab. “EMSL’s experienced staff provides nutritional labeling expertise to help the food industry, government regulators, and consumers analyze products and determine amounts of each ingredient.”

For more information on EMSL’s food testing services, please contact EMSL at (800) 220-3675, email info@EMSL.com , or visit www.EMSL.com or www.FoodTestingLab.com.

About EMSL Analytical, Inc.
EMSL Analytical is a full service testing company providing quality lab services under the same private ownership since 1981. Including the corporate lab facility in Cinnaminson, NJ, EMSL Analytical operates over thirty laboratories nationwide in the US and Canada. We provide analytical services for environmental, indoor air quality (IAQ), industrial hygiene, forensics and materials science, consumer products, food safety, PCR, pharmaceutical, asbestos, lead, and radiological samples. The company has an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations, as well as state and federal regulating bodies.