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Caffeine Amounts May Be On Food Labels In Future

Carole Sugarman The Washington Post

We all know that coffee, tea and Coke contain caffeine, but what about coffee-flavored yogurt? Hot chocolate? Sunkist Orange Soda?

The Center for Science in the Public Interest recently asked the Food and Drug Administration to require that foods be labeled with their caffeine content.

“Consumers have a right to know how much caffeine various foods contain,” said Michael Jacobson, executive director of CSPI. “Knowing the caffeine content is important to many people - especially women who are or might become pregnant, who might want to limit or avoid caffeine.”

Consumers can find out how much caffeine a particular product contains by calling the manufacturer’s toll-free 800 number listed on the product, according to the National Food Processors Association.

CSPI released a partial list of foods and their caffeine content, in milligrams, based on information from manufacturers. As a point of reference, keep in mind that an average cup of brewed coffee contains 135 milligrams of caffeine; an average cup of tea, 50 milligrams.

Frozen desserts

Ben & Jerry’s No Fat Coffee Fudge Frozen Yogurt: 1 cup, 85 milligrams.

Starbucks Coffee Ice Cream, assorted varieties: 1 cup, 40-60 milligrams.

Haagen-Dazs Coffee Ice Cream: 1 cup, 58 milligrams.

Haagen-Dazs Fat-Free Coffee Frozen Yogurt: 1 cup, 40 milligrams.

Haagen-Dazs Low Fat Coffee Fudge Ice Cream: 1 cup, 30 milligrams.

Starbucks Frappuccino Bar: 1 bar, 15 milligrams.

Healthy Choice Cappuccino Chocolate Chunk Low-Fat Ice Cream: 1 cup, 8 milligrams.

Healthy Choice Cappuccino Mocha Fudge Low-Fat Ice Cream: 1 cup, 8 milligrams.

Yogurts

Dannon Coffee Yogurt: 8 ounces, 45 milligrams.

Yoplait Cafe Au Lait Yogurt: 6 ounces, 5 milligrams.

Dannon Light Cappuccino Yogurt: 8 ounces, less than 1 milligram.

Drinks

Josta: 12 ounces, 58 milligrams.

Mountain Dew: 12 ounces, 55 milligrams.

Surge: 12 ounces, 51 milligrams.

Diet Coke: 12 ounces, 47 milligrams.

Coca-Cola: 12 ounces, 45 milligrams.

Dr Pepper, regular or diet: 12 ounces, 41 milligrams.

Sunkist Orange Soda: 12 ounces, 40 milligrams.

Pepsi-Cola: 12 ounces, 37 milligrams.

Barqs Root Beer: 12 ounces, 23 milligrams.

Barqs Diet Root Beer: 12 ounces, none.

7-Up or Diet 7-Up: 12 ounces, none.

Minute Maid Orange Soda: 12 ounces, none.

Mug Root Beer: 12 ounces, none.

Sprite or Diet Sprite: 12 ounces, none.

Chocolates & candies

Hershey Special Dark Chocolate Bar: 1.5-ounce bar, 31 milligrams.

Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar: 1.5-ounce bar, 10 milligrams.

Coffee Nips hard candy: 2 pieces, 6 milligrams.

Hot chocolate: 1 cup, 5 milligrams.

Iced teas

Celestial Seasonings Iced Lemon Ginseng Tea: 16 ounces, 100 milligrams.

Snapple Iced Tea, all varieties: 16 ounces, 48 milligrams.

Lipton Iced Tea, assorted varieties: 16 ounces, 18-40 milligrams.

Nestea Pure Sweetened Iced Tea: 16 ounces, 34 milligrams.

Nestea Pure Lemon Sweetened Iced Tea: 16 ounces, 22 milligrams.

Arizona Iced Tea, assorted varieties: 16 ounces, 15-30 milligrams.

Celestial Seasonings Herbal Iced Tea: 16 ounces, 0 milligrams.