Waitrose in u16s energy drink ban
WAITROSE is to ban sales of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16.
The supermarket said customers buying drinks containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre would be asked to prove they are over 16 years of age from March 5.
The move follows calls by campaigners for a complete ban on the sale of energy drinks to children following findings that their sugar and caffeine content remains high despite reformulation ahead of the soft drinks levy.
Waitrose said its decision was built on existing industry labelling guidelines, which require any soft drink with more than 150mg of caffeine per litre to carry a high-caffeine content warning and state it is not recommended for children.
The British Soft Drinks Association introduced a voluntary code of practice in 2010 stating that high-caffeine soft drinks should not be promoted or marketed to those under 16.
In 2013, Morrisons announced a ban on children under the age of 16 from buying high-caffeine energy drinks in some stores.
Simon Moore, Waitrose director of technical and corporate social responsibility, said: “These drinks carry advice stating that they are not recommended for children, so we’re choosing to proactively act on that guidance, particularly given the widespread concerns that have been raised about these drinks when consumed by under-16s.”
Youngsters in the UK are among the highest consumers of energy drinks in Europe, figures have shown.
Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine and Action on Sugar chairman, described the drinks as “completely inappropriate” for children to consume and said they should be banned for under-16s. Meanwhile, the makers of IrnBru have claimed most people will not taste the difference when the fizzy drink’s reduced sugar recipe is introduced, despite fans campaigning against the move.
Scotland’s so-called other national drink will be produced with less than 50 per cent of its regular sugar content from later this month. Fans are reportedly stockpiling the drink ahead of the change and a petition has been launched to save the current recipe. Irn-Bru’s “secret recipe” was introduced by AG Barr in 1901.
The company has been grappling with a shift in consumer tastes towards low-sugar drinks and has been preparing for the implementation of a sugar tax in 2018.