After two young men died from taking powdered pure caffeine, the U.S. Food ad Drug Administration (FDA) issued a consumer advisory and is now mulling further action, according to Michael Landa, Director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
Eighteen-year-old, Logan James Stiner, a high school senior, athlete and prom king died days before his graduation in May after taking powdered pure caffeine. James Wade Sweatt, 24, a newly married, recent graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, downloaded a conversion chart to try to calculate the proper dose but slipped into a coma after using powdered pure caffeine and later died.
Both young men purchased the caffeine online where it is marketed like an energy-boosting dietary supplement rather than a stimulant. A single teaspoon is roughly the equivalent to the amount of caffeine in 25 cups of coffee.
“Chemicals that may seem safe, like caffeine, are not safe when they are sold in a pure form as a “dietary supplement,” said food safety attorney Fred Pritzker. This form of caffeine is not usually put into beverages. And most people don’t know that pure caffeine, if it is marketed as a dietary supplement, isn’t regulated by the FDA. As the FDA considers next steps, it cautions everyone to be aware of the serious health risk associated with this product.
