A growing number of products have caffeine added to their ingredients. Believe it or not, some jelly beans, waffles, and potato chips now contain caffeine. Wrigley’s chewing gum is promoting a new line of caffeinated gum – with each piece containing as much caffeine as you would find in a half a cup of coffee.
The Food and Drug Administration has reacted to this growing trend by announcing an investigation into the safety of caffeine in food products, particularly looking at it’s effect on children and teens. Last week deputy commissioner Michael R. Taylor said,” 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 their cumulative impact.”
For a stimulant effect, caffeine is being added to some sunflower seeds, marshmallows and other snacks as well. One instant oatmeal states that a serving has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. What happened to the “good old days” – when a tall Starbucks mocha did the trick? nytimes.com 5/3/13