Groups Want Amounts Of Caffeine Labeled From Ice Cream To Orange Juice, Consumers Seek Listing Of Totals

Ben & Jerry’s coffee-fudge frozen yogurt packs more caffeine punch than half a cup of coffee. And Dannon coffee yogurt has as much caffeine as a can of Coca-Cola.

Citing such examples of caffeine added to foods from ice cream to orange juice, consumer groups asked the government Thursday to force food makers to label how much caffeine is in every food.

“People have a right to consume caffeine. But they also have the right to know how much caffeine they’re consuming,” said Patricia Lieberman of the advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest.

The Food and Drug Administration said it will consider the petition. The American Medical Association also is preparing to ask the agency to list caffeine amounts in foods.

The consumer group argued that too much caffeine may be unhealthy to certain people.

The government warns only one group of Americans - pregnant women - about caffeine consumption, and says even for them there’s no proof of risk. Still, just to be sure, the government advises pregnant women to avoid caffeine or use it sparingly.

But the consumer groups question how women can use caffeine sparingly if they can’t count their consumption. The FDA now requires foods only to list caffeine as an ingredient, and not to list the actual amount.

Say you want an orange soda.

Sunkist has 40 milligrams of caffeine but Minute Maid has none.

Regular brewed coffee has 135 mg and instant coffee, 95 mg. But flavored coffees vary widely: General Foods International’s orange cappuccino has 102 mg while the company’s Viennese Chocolate Cafe has 50.

A cup of that Ben & Jerry’s coffee-fudge frozen yogurt has 85 mg but Healthy Choice’s cappuccino mocha fudge ice cream has just 8 mg.

Even regular soft drinks aren’t equivalent: A can of Coca-Cola has 45 mg of caffeine and Diet Coke has 47 mg, while Pepsi has 37 mg and Sprite and 7-UP have none.

There’s even a caffeinated orange juice, Juiced, with 60 mg.

Lipton Tea voluntarily puts on its labels that an 8-ounce cup of tea provides 35-40 mg.

But the food industry opposes mandatory labeling, saying that because the ingredient is safe, how much foods contain is irrelevant. Consumers can get the amount by calling the manufacturer’s toll-free telephone number listed on every food package, said Rhona Applebaum of the National Food Processors Association.

Some shoppers said Thursday they want the amount listed. “We need as much information as we can get,” said Leon Rothenberg, 78, of Chevy Chase, Md., who said he tries to limit his daily coffee.

But Maria Guzman, 42, of Chevy Chase said she already knew where to seek out caffeine. “When I drink coffee, it’s like drinking energy.”

FDA food policy expert George Pauli said the agency will decide the issue based on federal law, which requires that ingredient amounts be listed if there are “consequences” to eating different levels.

CSPI, joined in its petition by the Consumer Federation of America, argued that too much caffeine can cause insomnia or anxiety. Some studies have suggested that more than three cups of coffee a day lower women’s chances of getting pregnant. Some doctors warn that caffeine may lower calcium absorption.

And the American Medical Association says caffeine may give certain ulcer patients more stomach acid and some heart patients a rapid or irregular heartbeat.

“We are not saying it’s dangerous,” emphasized the AMA’s Dr. Richard Corlin, a California gastroenterologist.

“But there are some people who, for one medical condition or another, are sensitive to the effects of it.”