Wrigley Puts the Brakes on Caffeinated Gum

WASHINGTONWrigley has withdrawn a caffeinated gum from the market after FDA revealed it would investigate the impact of the stimulant in foods on adolescents and children.

The company has "paused the production, sales and marketing" of the gum, Casey Keller, president of Wrigley North America, said in a statement. "This will give the FDA time to develop a new regulatory framework for the addition of caffeine to food and drinks."

A stick of Wrigley's Alert Energy Caffeine Gum contains the caffeine equivalent of half a cup of coffee. That fact may have concerned FDA, which plans to investigate the impacts of the substance on adolescents and children.

"The gum is just one more unfortunate example of the trend to add caffeine to food," Michael Taylor, FDA's Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, wrote last week in a consumer update announcing the probe. "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 other cumulative impact."

FDA has only approved the added use of caffeine in food for cola in the 1950s, according to Taylor. But caffeine is being added to a number of foods, such as jellybeans, marshmallows and sunflower seeds, he said.

In the statement, Keller said Wrigley made efforts to market the gum to consumers who were at least 25 years old. And on a webpage, Wrigley noted the product was not "recommended for children or persons sensitive to caffeine."