Wrigley Halts Production Of Caffeinated Gum

By Anthony Todd in Food on May 9, 2013 3:30PM

In a perfect example of "you can't fire me, I quit," Wrigley announced yesterday that it was going to stop producing it's new "Alert" caffeinated gum. The FDA has been making noises about regulating products with added caffeine because of health concerns, and it's a safe bet Wrigley wanted to get out of the way of oncoming regulations and potential PR disasters.

The FDA announced this month that they would begin an investigation of products with extra caffeine. In a Q&A with Michael Taylor, deputy commissioner for food and veterinary medicine, Taylor specifically addressed Wrigley's new product.

Q: The announcement comes just as Wrigley’s (a subsidiary of Mars) is promoting a new pack of gum with eight pieces, each containing as much caffeine as half a cup of coffee. Is the timing coincidental?

A: The gum is just one more unfortunate example of the trend to add caffeine to food. Our concern is about caffeine appearing in a range of new products, including ones that may be attractive and readily available to children and adolescents, without careful consideration of their cumulative impact.

Alert Gum was announced only a couple months ago. Each piece of gum has slightly more caffeine than a 12-ounce Coke. The gum was specifically designed to have a bitter, medicinal taste, so that it wouldn't appeal to children.

Anyone who has followed our coverage of candy expo for the past few years knows that caffeinated products are a huge and growing category in the candy industry. We've seen caffeinated gum, mints, chocolate - even sunflower seeds! The only time the FDA has explicitly approved the use of added caffeine was for colas in the 1950s, and there hasn't been any action since. In 2010, the FDA cracked down on alcoholic beverages with added caffeine, and as the number of products loaded with stimulants expands, it seems inevitable that they would step in. Chicago Alderman Ed Burke introduced a proposal to ban energy in January, but the ordinance never went anywhere.

A representative from Wrigley told the Associated Press that the halt was just temporary, out of "respect" for the FDA during their investigation process. We'll see if the product ever comes back.