British supermarket chain — Waitrose — on Thursday, announced plan to ban sale of highly caffeinated energy drinks to children under age 16.
The company wrote in a statement in London that “from March 5, customers buying drinks containing more than 150 milligrams of caffeine per litre would be asked to prove that they were over 16 years of age.”
It noted that “the move was to build on existing industry labeling guidelines” which required high-caffeine soft drinks to carry the warning — Not Suitable for Children, Pregnant Women and Persons Sensitive to Caffeine.”
Waitrose said it was the first British supermarket to change its sals policy for the popular drinks.
“As a responsible retailer, we want to sell these products in line with the labeling guidance,” Simon Moore, Waitrose’s Head of Technical and Corporate Social Responsibility, said in the statement.
He added that “these drinks carry advice stating that they were not recommended for children.
“Therefore, we chose to proactively act on that guidance, particularly given widespread concerns raised about these drinks when consumed by under-16s.”
Health experts from the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health had urged the government last month to consider restricting the sale of energy drinks to children.
The centre cited earlier research that found “a range of negative effects and unhealthy behaviours, including physical health complaints, such as headaches, palpitations and insomnia,” in children who consumed energy drinks.
It said that the European Food Safety Authority recommends a daily maximum of 105 milligrams of caffeine for an average 11-year-old.
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