Canada issues recalls for six more caffeinated beverages

Six additional energy drinks have been recalled by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, citing “various non-compliances related to caffeine content and labelling requirements.”

The latest recall includes “Bang: Potent Brain and Body Fuel”, C4” energy drink, “Cocaine” which is described as an energy supplement, as well as beverages “Fast Twitch”, “Ghost”, and “Ryse Fuel”.

The recall will affect all flavours of the listed drinks that contain caffeine and do not have bilingual English and French labelling.

Just over two weeks ago, the agency issued a recall for six additional caffeinated drinks including the popular “Prime Energy created by YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI.

Many of the recently banned products, including Prime Energy, were never officially distributed in Canada, making their way onto some Canadian store shelves after being illicitly imported from the U.S.A.

In an email statement provided to CTV Atlantic, Canadian Beverage Association president Krista Scaldwell said:

“Safety is a top priority for all Canadian Beverage association members. All products sold by our members in Canada follow the Health Canada regulations. We know individuals may import other products and circumnavigate standard food labelling and approval processes. We support the recall of these products.”

Some of these beverages like Prime have become popular among youth. Dr. Santokh Dhillon is the Maritimes only pediatric electrophysiologist and notes the beverages can negatively impact your health in a number of ways, most notably youth’s hearts.

“It can lead to faster heartbeats, irregular heartbeats,” says Dr. Dhillon. “It has been reported that some of these energy drinks can cause some types of cardiac arrest.”

Registered dietitian Angela Dufour works with youth athletes and is relieved to see the caffeinated energy products come off the shelves.

“A lot of these drinks are promoted and marketed by pro athletes,” says Dufour. “Really happy to see there is a bit more of a crackdown.”

Dufour notes both the caffeinated and non-caffeinated beverages have their share of issues. She says some ingredients included in the drinks are not regulated, which can lead to further complications.

“We just don’t know enough about the combinations of these ingredients,” Dufour says. “And at the limits and level they are putting in these beverages and what they can actually do in the long term.”

For a healthy energy drink alternative, Dufour recommends a mixture of coconut water, 100 per cent orange juice and a pinch of salt.