Decades of scientific and regulatory validation around the world
Despite their relative novelty in terms of product format and value proposition, energy drinks already have several decades of study by safety and health risk assessment entities, and by official regulatory agencies across the globe.
Energy drinks have had to be regulated as a different product from so-called sodas, or soft drinks, and thus also from so-called sports drinks such as those that contain electrolytes. The reason is clear, energy drinks are different drinks whose purpose is not to refresh or quench thirst, nor is it to rehydrate, although they contain water and fluids.
That is why many governments have chosen to classify them with an autonomous sub-category, within the spectrum of non-alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages.
The first countries to receive regulatory approval for energy drinks were Europeans, naturally, since one of the leading brands was created on that continent. According to the principles of mutual recognition established in the legislation of the European Union (art. 28 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, on the free movement of goods), a product recognized as legal in a member state has in principle of free movement and commercialization in others. Notwithstanding this, as of today only some member states of the European Union have specific provisions for energy drinks in their national legislation. They have issued their own standards for energy drinks (such as Germany or Switzerland) or have proposed principles for the composition of energy drinks through food regulations (such as the Codex Alimentarius Austriacus in Austria). Other European countries have a horizontal regulation regarding fortification with vitamins and other substances, which is also valid for energy drinks (as in Belgium, Denmark or the Netherlands).
In addition to the European Union, Australia and New Zealand through their ANZFA (Australia New Zealand Food Authority) has evaluated the safety of energy drinks in 2000 and in 2001 a regulation has been issued that today is a model and source of citations throughout the world, as an example of good regulatory practice on how to welcome energy drinks and on the determination of what composition and labeling requirements to establish, in a proportionate, equitable manner and with adherence to scientific and legal rigor.
Outside these examples, there are many more, both from the US FDA, and Health Canada in Canada, and many others from Asian countries, the Middle East and Africa that allow energy drinks to be freely marketed in more than 170 countries around of the world.
As we have previously highlighted, the regulatory novelty that energy drinks presented is relative, since their most relevant ingredients, such as caffeine, taurine, B vitamins or carbohydrates, have been safely consumed for thousands of years.