Caffeine: Not only in Coffee

Mustapha Shehu
Cambridge, Mass.


Michelle John, 28-year old single mother, works two jobs and takes evening classes. Her greatest friend through these is coffee. “I take about five cups a day to get the buzz, to remain active,” she said.

Is she aware that she ingests caffeine, the main ingredient in coffee, from other foods and drinks other than coffee? “Yes,” she replied, but thinks it is only Pepsi and Coca Cola.

John is wrong.

It is for her benefit and millions of others that the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and dozens of health advocates say they filed a 70-page petition urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to require the caffeine content of foods to be declared on labels.

Caffeine may cause miscarriages, insomnia, and other problems, according to more than 40 scientific studies outlined in the petition.
"Caffeine is the only drug that is widely added to the food supply," said Michael Jacobson, executive director of CSPI, at a press conference in Washington, D.C., "and consumers have a right to know how much caffeine various foods contain
Knowing the caffeine content is important to many people -- especially women who are or might become pregnant -- who might want to limit or avoid caffeine."
According to a CSPL Press Release, studies have shown that the amount of caffeine added to foods varies widely among brands:
*A cup of Dannon Coffee Yogurt has as much caffeine as a 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola, while a Dannon Light Cappuccino Yogurt has no caffeine.
*Sunkist Orange Soda has more caffeine than a Pepsi, while Minute Maid Orange Soda has none.
*A cup of Starbuck's Coffee Ice Cream has as much caffeine as half a cup of instant coffee, while some other brands are virtually caffeine free.
Andre Konnich, 42, seated in the Z-Square Café in Harvard Square sipping coffee cannot agree more with the CSPL. As a father, he believes that children and pregnant women must particularly be protected from ingesting foods, whose caffeine content is not known.
“Health effects like insomnia are terrible things in children, and to find out that caffeine is added to many foods and causes miscarriage in pregnant women is frightening,” he said.
Konnich, an easy-going-looking guy, seems to have been shocked to learn that there are dozens of foods out there, which unknown to the people, contain caffeine. “It is the right of consumers to know what they are buying,” he said. “It’s not only about caffeine, but all food labels must show the chemical contents of the food.
“Consumers deserve no less.”
"This all comes down to the consumer's right to know," said Lisa Cox, program and policies director at the National Women's Health Network. "When a food contains an ingredient linked to health problems, labels should disclose to shoppers the amount of that ingredient."
So also believes Patricia Lieberman, CSPI senior science policy fellow.
Spurred by legal action by CSPI in the 1970s, the FDA issued an advisory in 1981 warning that "Pregnant women should avoid caffeine-containing foods and drugs, if possible, or consume them only sparingly." The FDA still maintains that advisory as its official policy.
"Unfortunately, food labels do not provide women with the information they need to put the FDA's advice into practice," Lieberman said.
"Caffeine is present in an increasing variety of coffee and tea beverages, soft drinks, caffeinated waters, ice creams, and yogurts. It's usually impossible for consumers to estimate caffeine content based on a product's name or other label information."
Konnich’s daughter, 18-year-old Melanie, seated with her father at the café agrees with him. “Since caffeine has been proven to impair people’s health, all foods containing it must be labeled as such.
“It is the right of citizens to know what they eat,” she said.