The Prime energy drink brand is under fire after a US Senator penned a letter to the Food and Drug Administration for an investigation.
Logan Paul and KSI’s Prime energy drink has been widely successful since its launch in January 2023 — though not without its controversies.
Chief among those controversies is Prime’s effect on the younger members of KSI and Paul’s audience. For example, a school in Wales had to issue a warning to parents in regard to the energy drink when a student suffered a “cardiac episode” after drinking a can.
Now, Democratic US Senator Charles Schumer has called on the Food and Drug Administration, commonly known as the FDA, to investigate Prime thanks to the drink’s caffeine levels.
US Senator calls Prime a “serious health concern”
According to reporting by the Associated Press, Schumer called on the FDA to open an investigation into Prime on July 9, 2023.
When speaking about KSI, Paul’s — and by extension Prime’s — target audience, Schumer said, “One of the summer’s hottest status symbols for kids is not an outfit, or a toy — it’s a beverage. But buyer and parents beware because it’s a serious health concern for the kids it so feverishly targets.”
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For those who may not know, Prime is an energy drink advertised as having no added sugars and 200mg of caffeine per can. For context, that is 120mg more caffeine than Redbull and 40mg more than Monster.
This high level of caffeine can have adverse effects on kids, which caused schools in the UK and elsewhere to ban the drink outright.
While Prime Energy is labeled as “not recommended for children under 18” according to the website’s FAQ, one of Senator Schumer’s key points in his letter to the FDA was that parents could easily mistake Prime Energy for Prime Hydration. One has no caffeine while the other has 200mg.
According to Schumer, many parents believed they were simply purchasing a juice drink for their kids but instead gave them “a cauldron of caffeine.”
Ultimately, it remains to be seen if the FDA will end up investigating Prime, though it’s clear it’s caught the eye of members of the US Congress.