Canada recalls more energy drinks over caffeine, labelling issues

Canada has issued recalls for several more energy drinks along with the crackdown on Prime Energy, one of the products under YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI’s Prime drink brand.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) officially issued the recall for Prime Energy on Wednesday following a health risk assessment by Health Canada of the caffeinated beverages.

According to the CFIA, energy drinks are considered supplemented foods and are subject to Health Canada’s regulations. Those rules set out that beverages must not contain more than 180 milligrams of caffeine in a single-serve container and require cautionary statements to protect sensitive subpopulations — including children — such as information on the safe number of servings per day.

A total of six brands were impacted by the wider recall. Alongside Prime’s Energy drink, 3D Alphaland, Celsius, GFuel, Sting and 5 Hour Energy are also seeing recalls issued for their energy drinks or, in the case of Celsius, its dietary supplement.

Products like 5 Hour Energy, Prime Energy and Celsius contain 200 mg of caffeine, exceeding Canada’s limit, while three of GFuel’s 473-millilitre energy drinks were also recalled last month as some had up to 300 mg per serving.

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The amount contained in Prime or 5 Hour Energy amounts to the same caffeine levels as six cans of Coca-Cola or nearly two Red Bulls. It also is anywhere from 20-80 mg more than a typical cup of coffee brewed at home.

While Prime Energy was recalled, its separate product Prime Hydration — which is advertised as containing no caffeine — still remains on shelves and has not been recalled.

Global News requested comment on Wednesday from Prime about the recall, but has yet to receive a response.

The recall notices say “all flavours which contain caffeine and do not have bilingual (English and French) labelling” are being recalled, with the CFIA saying it is due to various non-compliances related to caffeine content and labelling requirements.

The products have been sold both nationally and online, the agency said.

While no reported reactions have been associated with consumption, the CFIA said the recall was triggered by its inspection activities and it will be working to ensure the products are removed from the marketplace.

Though the announcement from the CFIA means the products will likely drop from shelves in the coming months, the agency also is advising Canadians to report if they see any energy drinks exceeding 180mg or these particular recalled products as they should not be consumed, sold, served, used or distributed in the country.

“When non-compliant products are identified, the CFIA takes appropriate actions, which can range from verbal and/or written notifications to warnings, detention of product, product recall, and/or prosecution,” the CFIA said.