“In August, an 18-year-old in Palm Coast, Fla., died after drinking Four Loko in combination with diet pills. The next month, a 20-year-old in Tallahassee started playing with a gun and fatally shot himself after drinking several cans of Four Loko over a number of hours … Finally yesterday, a year after it began reviewing whether energy drinks that combine alcohol and caffeine are safe or legal, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to take a stand on the drinks as early as tomorrow, according to law enforcement officials in several states … Four Loko is made by Chicago-based Phusion Projects. The company said yesterday that it is disappointed by the state’s plans, saying curbing alcohol abuse will not succeed by singling out a beverage category.”
- Boston Globe
“Maranthe smiled. There was some silence for thinking until Maranthe finally said, looking up and off to think: ”This U.S.A. type of person and desires appears to me like almost the classic, how do you say, utilitaire.‘
‘A French appliance?’
‘Comme on dit,’ Maranthe said, ‘utilitarienne. Maximize pleasure, minimize displeasure: result: what is good. This is the U.S.A. … but precisely whose pleasure and whose pain, in this personality type’s equation of what is good?’”
- David Foster Wallace Infinite Jest
Fun fact: apparently it’s never been legal to sell caffeine mixed with alcohol.
21 C.F.R. § 182.1180:
“Code of Federal Regulations – Title 21. Food and Drugs Chapter I. Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services (Refs & Annos) Subchapter B. Food for Human Consumption Part 182. Substances Generally Recognized as Safe (Refs & Annos) Subpart B. Multiple Purpose Gras Food Substances § 182.1180 Caffeine.
(a) Product. Caffeine.
(b) Tolerance. 0.02 percent.
(c) Limitations, restrictions, or explanation. This substance is generally recognized as safe when used in cola-type beverages in accordance with good manufacturing practice.”
The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) prohibits the adulteration of any food in interstate commerce. 21 U.S.C. § 331(b). A food is adulterated under the FDCA if it contains an “unsafe” food additive. 21 U.S.C. §§ 342(a)(2)(C), 348 (a). A food additive is deemed “unsafe” unless its particular use has been approved by federal regulation or is Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) under the conditions of its intended use. Under the GRAS guidelines, the burden is on the manufacturer to prove that an additive is safe for its intended use based on published scientific literature and that there is a consensus of scientific opinion regarding the safety of the use of the substance. 21 CFR §§ 170.3, 170.30. As the FDA has explained, “it is the use of the substance, rather than the substance itself, that is eligible for the GRAS exemption.” 62 Fed. Reg. 18939 (April 17, 1997). The FDA has approved caffeine as GRAS only for use in non-alcoholic cola-type beverages in concentrations no greater than 200 parts per million (ppm). 21 C.F.R. § 182.1180.
also:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/make-your-own-four-loko-homebrew