According to an official statement released by Red Bull China, each 250-ml can of Red Bull contains the following elements: 1,100 mg of taurine, 600 mg of glucuronolactone, 80 mg of caffeine, 20 mg of niacin, 5 mg of vitamin B6, 5 mg of pantothenic acid, 0.005 mg of vitamin B12, 21.5 grams of sucrose and 5.25 grams of glucose. Moreover, there is a sugar-free version of Red Bull that replaces the sucrose and glucose with acesulfame-K and aspartame to reduce calories, while the other ingredients remain the same.

Pressure under the new law

Red Bull drinks in China appear to be cocaine-free, but another kind of additive-caffeine-has raised concerns among consumers.

Chinese standards for food additives stipulate that caffeine in cola drinks must not exceed 0.15 grams per kg. The amount of caffeine in Red Bull drinks is much higher than the standard.

According to medical materials, caffeine is a stimulant that helps users stay awake, but long-term use can be damaging to human health. Particularly, since it is habit forming, suspension of use may lead to symptoms of withdrawal such as fatigue, irritability and even mild depression. Excessive use can have serious physical and mental consequences. Therefore caffeine is considered a psychotropic substance under state control.

The Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China that took effect on June 1 lays out strict procedures for food additives. The varieties and amounts of additives in products must be listed on outside labels, and the labels must be consistent with the actual contents. Only substances in the catalogue of additives can be used as additives, and those that are temporarily proved to be harmful to human health cannot be added to food.

Red Bull ran into the cocaine issue around the same time the Food Safety Law came into effect. This is the first test not only for Red Bull, but also for the new Food Safety Law.

According to figures released by the China National Food Industry Association, during the past decade, the Chinese food industry has experienced rapid growth, with an annual increase of about 12 percent, while the annual growth of food additives has also reached 12-14 percent. Therefore food additives have larger development space in China. Nowadays there are about 25,000 kinds of food additives in the world. Of those, 80 percent are spices and 3,000 kinds can be directly used. About 1,800 kinds of food additives are under the management of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, while China approves the use of 1,960 kinds of food additives.

Since the quality problem of Red Bull was disclosed, the public has naturally turned to supervisory authorities for answers. The Food Safety Law has clarified that each link of the food chain be supervised by a single authority. But is the authoritative voice of the related supervisor timely and accurate? Is cooperation among different government departments effective and seamless?

According to the Food Safety Law, anything outside the food additives catalogue cannot be used. No food is exempted from inspection and consumers whose interests are damaged have the right to claim 10-fold compensation. If any producers find the food they produce does not comply with food safety standards, they must suspend production at once and recall the product from store shelves. Some overseas companies recall problem products before authoritative information is published, but this presents a dilemma for China. If the product is recalled, producers and retailers may suffer losses; and if it stays on shelves and harms consumers, the public will react angrily. Red Bull drinks have been recalled in foreign countries since the cocaine reports, but in the domestic market, they are still on sale and have not been influenced by the news.

This may be a challenge for the newly adopted Food Safety Law. There should be detailed legal standards on how to recall problem products, which would not only alleviate public doubt, but also ensure that producers do not suffer heavy losses.

It can be said that the trace amounts of cocaine found in Red Bull are not only a problem for the company, but also a test for China's food safety supervisory authorities, and even a good opportunity to check the implementation of the Food Safety Law.