6 More Energy Drink Brands Recalled by Health Canada for Excessive Caffeine, Labelling Issues

Prime energy drinks are displayed with other energy drinks at a grocery store in Detroit on March 24, 2023. (Carlos Osorio/AP Photo)

Six more energy drink brands have been recalled by the government on top of another six recalled earlier this month for noncompliance with caffeine content and labelling regulations.

“The affected products are being recalled from the marketplace due to various non-compliances related to caffeine content and labelling requirements,” said a July 28 notice issued by Health Canada. A product recall by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) followed.

The brands of energy drinks recalled include Bang: Potent Brain and Body Fuel, C4, Cocaine, Fast Twitch, Ghost, and Ryse Fuel, specifically all flavours containing caffeine and absent bilingual labelling.

This recall follows an earlier recall in mid-July that included the high-caffeine brand Prime Energy, founded by Logan Paul, an American actor, social media personality, and wrestler, and KSI (Olajide Olayinka Williams “JJ” Olatunji) a British YouTube personality, rapper, and boxer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been encouraged to investigate the Prime energy drink, which contains 200 milligrams of caffeine per can. Marie-Pier Burelle, a spokeswoman for Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, told The Epoch Times that energy drinks are “considered to be a supplemented food.” As such, they are subject to specific regulations.

“Under these regulations, energy drinks must not contain more than 180 mg of caffeine in a single-serving container and require cautionary statements to protect sensitive sub-populations, including children. Prime Energy exceeds the acceptable caffeine limit. As a result, it should not be sold in Canada,” said Ms. Burelle.

While Prime has not officially launched its drinks in Canada, it has been available to purchase in stores across the country after allegedly being imported from the United States.

The official Canadian product is expected to contain approximately 140 milligrams per can once commercially available.

The CFIA said customers should not “consume, serve, use, sell, or distribute” drinks that have more than 180 milligrams of caffeine. Health Canada and the CFIA said they are aware that some stores in Canada may be selling Prime without approval and they are “actively working to address this issue.”

In addition to Prime’s recall, the brands 3D Alphaland, 5 Hour, Celsius, GFuel, and Sting are also being recalled because of caffeine content noncompliance and labelling requirements.

On July 11, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on federal regulators to investigate Prime for its marketing practices, alleging that Prime was packaged and marketed in a nearly identical fashion to the brand’s caffeine-free drink, Prime Hydration.

Research suggests that caffeinated energy drinks can have a negative impact on young people, with one review of recent research showing caffeine intoxication can potentially result in tachycardia, vomiting, cardiac arrhythmias, seizures, and even death.

The Canadian Press and Matthew Horwood contributed to this report.