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SCMP Reporter

CONSUMERS may be mistaken when they believe their favourite drink to be low in caffeine or caffeine-free, the Consumer Council said yesterday in a survey of the caffeine content of 72 drinks.

  The survey, in Choice magazine, shows that apparently similar drinks can have a caffeine content that differs by a factor of 10.

  Those wanting to stay awake at night should try the Gold Kili brand of instant coffee, the highest caffeine content found. One cup has 136 milligrams of caffeine if prepared as shown on the label, nearly 21/2 times a cup of Nescafe instant coffee, which has 56 mg.

  Among canned drinks, the highest content was found in cans of iced coffee.

  A council spokesman, Sara Ho Suk-ching, said there was no need for drinks to have their caffeine content marked, and said consumers should 'limit their maximum caffeine intake'.

  Of 11 products advertised as 'health drinks', Libogen Tonic Vitamized drink had 45 mg of caffeine per 150 millilitre can, while the other 10 had none.

  A 355 ml can of Coca-Cola canned in Hong Kong had 31 mg, Diet Coca-Cola had 43 mg per can, Pepsi had 36 mg per can and Diet Pepsi had 25 mg per can.

  People who have died from caffeine have typically had at least 5,000 mg in their body, which would be equivalent to 116 cans of Diet Coca-Cola or around 30 very strong cups of coffee.

  But studies have overthrown the belief that caffeine can cause rectal, colon, pancreatic and breast cancer, the council reported.

  Dr Julian Critchley, head of Clinical Pharmacology at Chinese University, said that a strong cup of drip coffee, a drink not tested by the council, could have as much as 180 mg which meant the difference between Coca-Cola and Pepsi was small compared to different strength coffees.

  Researchers in the US have recommended pregnant women restrict their daily consumption to no more than 300 mg, and there has also been concern that breast-feeding mothers should cap their consumption because it gets passed through to the child.

  'If you're breast-feeding a child, it would be wise to avoid drinking lots of cups of strong coffee and strong teas - it's common sense,' said Dr Critchley.

  'But sharing a can of Coke with a friend isn't going to do any harm.' 



Survey kicks in with warning on caffeine