Taiwan Considers Caffeine Warning for Tea

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Sampling shows that bubble teas contain high caffeine content. Taiwan is considering a mandatory warning label for all freshly made tea.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) intends to mandate red, yellow, and green warning labels on freshly made tea, including bubble tea, chocolate, and other caffeinated drinks in response to the death in January of a seven-year-old child. The draft rules, published June 28 are enforceable in July 2022.

Black-tea based milk drinks can contain significant amounts of caffeine. A typical 16-oz serving of Taiwanese milk tea - a blend of fruit, condensed milk, and tea - contains 151 mg of caffeine according to the Caffeine Informer. A 2013 study in Hong Kong that tested 10 samples of milk tea found a range 250-490 mg of caffeine per liter. It is for this reason that bubble tea is not recommended for young children.

The red label will be mandatory on beverages containing 200 mg or more caffeine. Vendors can label the product electronically with QR codes and other electronic methods or affix a label. A yellow label indicates the drink contains 100-200 mg of caffeine, while green indicates less than 100 mg of caffeine. The child, who was allergic to caffeine, died of a seizure after consuming a cup of brown sugar milk tea at a Milkstop bubble tea outlet. Current rules require warnings only for coffee beverages. Milkstop later released a statement apologizing for failing to inform the young customer that the milk beverage contained black tea.

Publishing the new rule opens a 60-day period for public comment. FDA technical specialist Chen Yu-hsuan told Focus Taiwan that the amendment has strong public support. Chen said the revision will remind consumers that non-coffee drinks such as tea and hot chocolate also contain caffeine.

Convenience stores, bubble tea shops, pharmacies, cafés, and restaurants that fail to convey the warning face a minimum US$1,000 fine up to $100,000 per violation, according to the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation. Labels that purposely mislead consumers face a $145,000 file (NT$4 million) per violation.

Taiwan first regulated caffeine drinks in 2006, warning that coffee causes stomach aches, anxiety, and mood swings. Starbucks was required to issue caffeine-awareness pamphlets after its triple shot energy lattes earned a red warning label. Today the labels are commonplace in coffee shops.