Orange County Register

Two Huntington Beach-based companies are among 27 manufacturers of caffeinated alcohol beverages challenged by the Food and Drug Administration on Friday over the safety of the popular drinks.

The companies are:

• Rizer Spirits, maker of XZO Vodka, located at 7451 Warner Avenue, Suite E #180.
• Catalyst Beverage Company, maker of Catalyst, located at 199 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 320.

Attempts to reach both companies were unsuccessful.

Here’s a list of all the companies, which range from overseas spirit-makers with U.S. distributors to craft breweries.

The FDA sent letters to all the companies giving them 30 days to produce evidence that the substances in the drinks are “generally recognized as safe.” The FDA has only approved caffeine as an additive in soft drinks, not alcoholic beverages.

The drinks have surged in popularity in recent years, particularly among college students. A trend that started with young people adding vodka to Red Bull energy drink has now become a $1 billion a year industry, accounting for about 1 percent of all beer sales in the U.S.

But healthcare advocates have expressed alarm at the drinks because the effect of combining caffeine (a stimulant) with alcohol (a depressant) could mask the effects of drunkenness. The caffeine makes the drinker more alert, which makes them want to drink more. These “wide-awake drunks” also are more apt to engage in other dangerous activity, like driving or assaulting others, according to an influential 2007 study performed at Wake Forest University.

Critics also note that the drinks, which are marketed under names like Vicious Vodka, Slingshot Party Gel and Booya Espresso Silver Tequila, are sold in brightly colored cans and bottles that resemble non-alcoholic energy drinks. Since they’re sold in convenience stores, clerks might mistake them for regular energy drinks and not card the buyer. They’re also huge: I bought an orange-and-black can of Jungle Joose today, and it’s 23.5 ounces, at 9.9 percent alcohol.

“It appears to be aimed at binge consumption and encouraging this stay- up-all-night and party atmosphere, which is unsafe,” said Francesca Gessner, deputy city attorney in San Francisco. Her boss, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, joined attorneys general from 18 states, including California, in pressing the FDA for action.

After getting permission from my boss, I tasted the Jungle Joose (made by United Brands of Los Angeles) I bought at the store for $2.69. The verdict? Awful. Like a more-syrupy Red Bull.

The FDA letters demand that the 27 companies produce “evidence of their rationale, with supporting data and information,” as to why infusing caffeine in their products is safe or sanctioned under federal guidelines. If the FDA determines they’re not in compliance, it “will take appropriate action to ensure that the products are removed from the marketplace.”

In the past year, MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch InBev both reformulated their caffeine-alcohol drinks to remove the caffeine in response to criticism.

Jeff Smith, who formed Catalyst along with fellow UC Santa Barbara alum Ryan Davies, was quoted in a 2006 article praising these drinks as convenient for consumers and bars alike, and predicted a huge marketing potential for the beverages.

“We’re just adding to that phenomenon and really trying to take advantage of something new in the marketplace where beer has left off,” he told the trade magazine Beverage Spectrum.

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