Schumer urges FDA to probe Prime energy drink backed by YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling connected the Food and Drug Administration to look into a sports vigor portion founded by societal media influencers that has go fashionable with kids and teens.

Prime, founded by YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI, rapidly gained a fervent pursuing aft its 2022 motorboat and became an official spouse of Futbol Club Barcelona this month. The marque offers a bottled hydration portion and a canned vigor beverage, which is said is not intended for children.

In a merchandise Monday, Schumer's bureau called the vigor portion a "cauldron of caffeine."

"Many physicians person superior interest for Prime, and I constitute to specifically impulse your bureau to analyse Prime for its claims, selling and caffeine content," Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote successful a missive to FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf. Prime drinks person gone viral connected societal media platforms, specified arsenic TikTok, which is itself under aggravated regulatory scrutiny successful Washington.

The Prime vigor portion contains 200 mg of caffeine per 12 ounces, compared to 34 mg successful a 12-ounce tin of Coca-Cola and 80 mg successful an 8.4-ounce tin of Red Bull, according to Schumer's letter. Several countries, including Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand person already banned Prime Energy drinks oregon its caffeine-free version, Prime Hydration, successful immoderate schools.

Schumer urged Califf to commencement an probe based connected physicians' warnings to parents who accidental the caffeine contented "can person an adverse interaction connected the wellness of children" arsenic good arsenic targeted advertizing to younger demographics. The company's deficiency of capable warnings astir its caffeine contented besides invites scrutiny, helium wrote.

"A elemental hunt connected societal media for Prime volition make an eye-popping magnitude of sponsored content, which is advertising," Schumer wrote. "This contented and the claims made should beryllium investigated, on with the ingredients and the caffeine contented successful the Prime vigor drink."

A institution typical told CNBC that Prime Energy "contains a comparable magnitude of caffeine to different apical selling vigor drinks, each falling wrong the ineligible bounds of the countries it's sold in," and that it welcomes discussions with the FDA connected protecting customers.

Prime Energy "complied with each FDA guidelines earlier hitting the marketplace and states intelligibly connected packaging, arsenic good arsenic successful selling materials, that it is an vigor portion and is not made for anyone nether the property of 18," the typical said.