Energy drinks are an important part of retailers’ soft drinks offer to their customers but can occasionally attract concern from the local community, especially from parents and schools, around the consumption of energy drinks by young people.
Retailers should be conscious of these concerns and develop policies based on their own business and the place that energy drinks have in it, and local circumstances in the communities they serve.
What are energy drinks?
The legal definition of energy drinks is dependent on the amount of caffeine per litre, the threshold is 150mg of caffeine per litre. If an energy drink has 150mg of caffeine per litre (mg/l) it must be labelled with the term ‘high caffeine content. Not recommended for children or pregnant or breast feeding women.” The label must also include the caffeine content of the product in mg per 100ml. Energy drinks are not sports drinks which are specifically designed to help athletes and other active people hydrate before, during and after exercise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can energy drinks be sold to under 16s?
Yes, there are no age restrictions on the sale of any caffeine containing foods and beverages, including energy drinks.
Do under 16 year olds need to provide an ID to buy an energy drink?
No, there is no legal requirement for children under 16 years old to produce ID to purchase any caffeine containing foods and beverages including energy drinks.
Is there a maximum amount that I can sell in one transaction?
No, there are no legal limits on the amount of any caffeine containing food or beverage, including energy drinks that someone can purchase in one transaction. However, the products include lables that state “Consume Moderately” (or similar words).
Are energy drinks safe for children and adolescents?
Yes, energy drinks are safe. All the functional ingredients of energy drinks have undergone a rigorous safety evaluation.
More Information
The British Soft Drinks Association has a code of practice for suppliers that can be viewed here. ACS' Assured Advice and best practice on preventing underage sales is available here.
Energy Drinks: Policy Options
Listed below are a range of examples of retailers’ policies on energy drinks and the ways they have responded to concerns raised by communities.
Its intention is to provide you with a menu of options that you could employ as you deem appropriate in your business to respond to community concerns. You may choose:
Age Restrictions
• You may choose to restrict sale to those over a specified age. This could be 16 or it could be another age limit agreed locally.
• Such a policy would mean that you would only sell energy drinks to individuals that present identification to show they are over the specified age.
• This policy could be used alongside a ‘challenge’ scheme, like Challenge 25, to ensure staff are challenging customers that are older than the specified age. Important Note: Energy drinks cannot be age restricted for individuals over the age of 18 years old.
Quantity Restrictions
• Some retailers have introduced limits on the number of energy drinks they sell in one transaction to a young person. Schools Where retailers are asked to engage with local schools they should try and agree an approach on energy drink sales, for example:
• Not selling energy drinks to children in school uniform; • Not selling energy drinks to children at agreed times.
Parents
• Retailers have responded to parents concerns about energy drinks by refusing to serve individual children
