Summary
This guidance has been produced to provide advice to businesses that manufacture, process, distribute or sell food supplements containing caffeine.
Caffeine in food supplements
Caffeine is a substance that is found naturally in many products such as tea and coffee and it is one of the most widely consumed stimulants worldwide.
Caffeine is commonly added to food supplements, and it is often marketed with physiological effects such as increased focus and performance enhancement. Caffeine is not a vitamin or mineral, but it does fit the definition of a substance with a physiological effect, and it can therefore be used as an ingredient in food supplements.
Caffeine food supplements can often contain high levels of caffeine, sometimes from multiple ingredients which may themselves be a source of caffeine intake (e.g. kola nuts, guarana, certain tea leaves such as black tea etc).
As caffeine is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, stimulatory effects may begin 15 to 30 minutes after ingestion and may last for a number of hours exerting physiological effects or leading to side effects (e.g. headaches, nausea etc).