Iowa retailers must stop selling alcohol with caffeine this week

State officials say retailers and wholesalers in Iowa have until Thursday to stop selling or distributing pre-packaged alcoholic beverages that contain added caffeine or face fines and other sanctions.

Tonya Dusold of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division said Dec. 2 marks the end of a 15-day warning period issued by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the removal of alcoholic energy drinks, such as Four Loko, Joose or other products sold in Iowa.

The federal agency determined the alcoholic energy drinks are adulterated under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The FDA provided manufacturers with 15 days to bring products into compliance or withdraw them from distribution, she said.

The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division concurred with the federal Tax and Trade Bureau's position of prohibiting the distribution of any beverage that contains a food additive that is not generally recognized as safe, she said.

Dusold said the knowing violation of the federal act is a violation of Iowa law, which states licensees shall not "knowingly permit or engage in any criminal activity" on the licensed premises. Consistent with the terms of the FDA warning letter, state officials will not take enforcement action before the expiration of the 15-day correction period provided to the manufacturers, she said.

However, any wholesaler or retailer that is distributing or selling affected products in violation of federal law after Dec. 2 will be subject to enforcement action, Dusold said. Infractions could result in revocation or suspension of a state-issued license or a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation.

All levels within the distribution and retail network have a responsibility to ensure that the product is not available for sale, Dusold noted. Beer permit holders and liquor licensees should look to the contractual agreement with the distributor, wholesaler and retailer for guidance on how to remove and dispose of adulterated products.

The Alcoholic Beverages Division will investigate as needed if any of the affected products are sold after the deadline, she said.

“There'll be some spot-checking things going on, but mostly it will be if somebody sees it on a shelf and calls and lets us know. We'll do an investigation on a case-by-case basis,” said Dusold, who noted the state no longer has alcohol compliance officers and will rely on compliance through education. “We've got eyes and ears out there for sure.”

Dusold said there is no specific data on the sales of alcoholic energy drink in Iowa because they are lumped under beer sales as a high-alcohol content beer product, but anecdotally she said “they were flying off the shelves. I know they were really popular.”

The concern was that the pre-packaged products were in large servings of up to 24 ounces that contained the equivalent of 4.5 to seven shots of alcohol, Dusold said. The federal warning does not apply to alcoholic energy drinks that are made and served in Iowa bars and taverns because they are sold in smaller servings and contain less alcohol, she added.

“Anytime you mix alcohol and caffeine, there's a danger there,” Dusold said.

Information about the federal warning and the removal process can be found at the IowaABD.com Web site.