There have been health concerns about how the current labels work
A major change to food labels could be brought in at UK supermarkets such as Tesco and Asda. Campaigners have launched a petition to Parliament urging for new laws so that labels for pre-packed coffee have to show their caffeine content.
The petition urges: “Recommended daily caffeine intakes are 400 mg for adults and 200 mg for pregnant women, but consumers cannot reliably use product labels to help track intake. Excess caffeine risks can include heart palpitations, anxiety, insomnia, and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
“We think mandatory labelling would help empower safe, informed choices and protects public health. We want clearer caffeine labelling (mg per 100g and per serving) to help protect health.”
Under the current rules, bags of coffee do not have to include details of caffeine content. Drinks that have more than 150mg of caffeine per litre have to include the label: ‘High caffeine content. Not recommended for children or pregnant or breast-feeding women.’
This includes concentrated or dried drinks that will contain above this level once you have made the drink. However, this does not apply to tea or coffee drinks that have either the word ‘tea’ or ‘coffee’ in the name of the food.
Government guidance explains: “Where caffeine has been added to a food product (other than a drink) for a physiological purpose, you must put the words ‘Contains caffeine. Not recommended for children or pregnant women’ on the label.
“You must put these warnings in the same field of vision as the name of the food and include the caffeine content in milligrams per 100 grams or per 100 millilitres in brackets after the warning.” The amount of caffeine in coffee can vary depending on the type of bean used and how it has been processed.
If the petition reaches 10,000 signatures, the Government will have to issue a response. If 100,000 people show their support, the issue will be considered for debate in Parliament.
