Energy Drink "Woo".......Hoo?

Sickly Crypsis

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Sickly Crypsis
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Feb 4, 2008
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Shortly after obtaining my morning caffeine delivery device,(a 'V') I noticed a peculiar thing on the Nutritional Information Table.

A handwritten by design line reading "Woo hoo" which had an arrow pointing to a part on the nutritional table which was highlighted and was the "Guarana Extract" listing. (Boasting their drinks content obviously)

The thing that struck me as odd was that it was in the Nutritional Information Table in the first place. Isn't "Guarana Extract" a bit ambiguous to be placed in the table? I thought it was reserved for isolated substances (and energy), like protein, fat, carbohydrate etc, Not (effectively) Guarana powder.

I was looking at the Nutritional Information Requirements from Australian Food standards, but I cant see anything that supports or corrects my claim.

Now I know that other than the caffeine the rest is more or less "Fairy dust", but this just seems more like breach of conduct than anything.

Care to share any thoughts? or even take a trip down memory lane with the "flash in the pan" energy drinks you remember and their claims?
 
Nope.
Caffeine is the next line down which is 78mg per serving.

Guarana Extract is listed as 300mg per serving. (Although that must caffeine would be appreciated! :D)
 
Guarana extract is where the caffeine comes from, though. But I don't know why it would be listed in the nutritional information.
 
Guarana extract is not where the caffeine comes from. Energy drinks' caffeine come from the caffeine taken out of decaf coffee. Or at least that's what I read in National Geographic, but anybody with an eye on archeology knows that publication is far from the final word on facts.

Guarana is usually about 22% caffeine by weight, and is a nice little way to add more boost, plus the added: "ooh, looky! It's got the buzz word guarana" factor. In the States, I think they're limited as to how much caffeine they can legally put in, so they add guarana, a natural source, to get around the limit.

The only reason I could see for them to add guarana on the nutritional table would be if someone recently raised a stink about the lack of control when it come to guarana, and the numerous questions as to how safe it is to consume.
 
eh? said:
The only reason I could see for them to add guarana on the nutritional table would be if someone recently raised a stink about the lack of control when it come to guarana, and the numerous questions as to how safe it is to consume.
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I am not sure about the US - But in Australia, food labeling has to indicate all the contents, food colouring, flavour additive etc etc, regardless of the impact the item has on the nutrition of the product
 
MG1962 said:
I am not sure about the US - But in Australia, food labeling has to indicate all the contents, food colouring, flavour additive etc etc, regardless of the impact the item has on the nutrition of the product
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similar here in Canada. The regulations differ slightly in the states, but not too much. All the ingredients you mentioned are likely in the ingredients part of the lable. I would fully expect to see Guarana in the ingredients list, but not on the nutritional information table. It's not a protein, fat, carbohydrate, source of calories or minerals.

" I thought it was reserved for isolated substances (and energy), like protein, fat, carbohydrate etc, Not (effectively) Guarana powder."

I agree with that, it's weird to be classing most materials into categories of fats, carbs, protein, then including a specific ingredient. maybe guarana just didn't fall into that category, but if so, I would also expect all those other "fairy dust"(Taurine, green tea extract, b-vitamins) ingredients to be on that table.
 
All those so-called "Energy Drinks" are just a scam...for people who can't afford Cocaine.

Cocaine is the "Real Thing", after all, it used to be in Coca-Cola...

It's the damn "war on drugs", that makes all these woo-woo drinks sell like crack!
 
Not sure if my boss would be stoked with me having a 'snorto' break. (Unless I was a stock broker) :D
"Cocaine's a hell of a drug....."
I am a bit of a caffeine pig though, but I'll save coke for the weekends.

And the other fairy dust elements are listed on the nutritional table (B group vitamins, taurine) but I can understand those being listed because taurine is an organic acid (Omega group fatty acids are required to be listed) and the Vitamin groups are intentionally added to the product, so people on a strict diet can ensure they don't exceed their RDI.

But Guarana Extract feels to me like listing "Apple Juice" on the nutritional information table. Its not a discrete vitamin or mineral its a mixture of lots of different ones, thus belonging on the ingredients list.
 
eh? said:
Guarana extract is not where the caffeine comes from. Energy drinks' caffeine come from the caffeine taken out of decaf coffee. Or at least that's what I read in National Geographic, but anybody with an eye on archeology knows that publication is far from the final word on facts.
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Well, I heard about it as a source of caffeine in energy drinks on an episode of CBC's The National. So I think we're tied on that score.

The main thing that I got out of that show was that the reason it is in all these energy drinks is as a source of caffeine -but- you cannot buy simple guarana-flavoured pop in Canada because the powers that be have declared it illegal for a pop to be caffeinated without being caramel-coloured. So the only guarana is only legal when it's mixed in with ginseng and other pseudo-herbal half-toxic [rule 10].

Any Brazillian member of the forum want to mail me a can of Antarctica Guarana?
 
The US has at least two separate laws about food labeling. The first, which has been in place since the early part of the 20th century (1920s?) details the constituents, in order of mass content. There are rules about what needs to be spelled out and what can be covered over with "artificial flavoring" or "color extract". Sometimes the components themselves are further broken down.

The second law mandates a table of the number of servings in the container, calories per serving, fat, sodium, carbs, and proteins and probably some other categories, with percentages of the daily amount required supplied of each per serving. That cuts right across the components, so you can't hide fat, say, in three or four components and lead people to believe the fat content is less then the water or some such. This has been in effect for, perhaps, 20 or 30 years.
 
Madalch said:
Well, I heard about it as a source of caffeine in energy drinks on an episode of CBC's The National. So I think we're tied on that score.

The main thing that I got out of that show was that the reason it is in all these energy drinks is as a source of caffeine -but- you cannot buy simple guarana-flavoured pop in Canada because the powers that be have declared it illegal for a pop to be caffeinated without being caramel-coloured. So the only guarana is only legal when it's mixed in with ginseng and other pseudo-herbal half-toxic [rule 10].

Any Brazillian member of the forum want to mail me a can of Antarctica Guarana?
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Tied? Both right? whichever. CBC was right, guarana is a source of caffeine for energy drinks, but as to whether it is the sole source or is complementary to what is added from decaf coffee is a question I'll leave to be answered by someone in the industry.

And I second that request for guarana drinks from Brazil! (or any South American Country)

I knew about the inability to buy guarana-pop, but had no idea the reason! The reasoning sounds so ludicrous, it fits right in with why I'd expect them to ban it. Caramel-coloured....i had no idea! haha! Redikerous!
 
Sickly Crypsis said:
I am a bit of a caffeine pig though, snip...
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That's what I don't get...why not just indulge in a cup of pure french roasted coffee bean? not the crap that starbucks inflates to $4US a cup, but simply grinding your own beans, and adding steam? (or boiling water)

Energy in a can, is like the Emails I get wanting to enlarge my penis, they both want to part me from my money with no results...(I have only tested the cans) ;)
 
XBoxWarrior said:
That's what I don't get...why not just indulge in a cup of pure french roasted coffee bean? not the crap that starbucks inflates to $4US a cup, but simply grinding your own beans, and adding steam? (or boiling water)

Energy in a can, is like the Emails I get wanting to enlarge my penis, they both want to part me from my money with no results...(I have only tested the cans) ;)
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1) Taste
2) Convenience
3) Effect

Don't get me wrong I LOVE a good cup 'o' Java, but when you're out and about its easy and convenient to have a few cans in a bag.

Not to mention if its a particularly hot day, a steaming hot drink isn't my first choice of beverage.
 
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