The Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) Board has approved revised standards governing the use of caffeine in food, with the aim of improving consumer safety and providing clearer regulatory direction.
The decision follows the approval of Proposal – Caffeine Review, which introduces tighter controls on caffeine and guarana extract under the Food Standards Code.
The changes are intended to respond to rising concerns around excessive caffeine consumption and to curb the expansion of highly caffeinated products within the broader food market.
Under the amendments, caffeine will no longer be allowed to be sold at retail as a food.
The updated rules also place stricter conditions on when caffeine may be added to food products and impose limits on high-strength guarana extract.
New labelling requirements will apply to packaged coffee beverages with elevated caffeine content.
These include mandatory disclosure of caffeine levels per serving and the inclusion of advisory statements to inform consumers.
Caffeine will continue to be allowed in formulated supplementary sports foods, provided it remains within specified limits.
Existing permissions for caffeine use in energy drinks and cola beverages will remain unchanged.
Similarly, naturally caffeinated ingredients such as coffee and tea will still be permitted, unless they are classified as an unapproved novel food.
The updated standards are designed to improve regulatory clarity, enable informed consumer decision-making, and allow continued product development within established safety boundaries.
In a separate development, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warnings regarding ingredient safety in certain supplements.
The agency reported that some products marketed as tejocote root or Brazil seed were found, following testing, to contain toxic yellow oleander.
According to the FDA, certain products labelled as tejocote (Crataegus mexicana) root or Brazil seed were adulterated with yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana), a poisonous plant native to Mexico and Central America that is considered by public health authorities to pose a significant toxic risk.
