Red bull safe to drink

Red Bull products are safe to drink and contain no banned ingredients despite a recent health scare forcing the drinks off shelves, according to a circular issued by the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) on Wednesday. The SFDA has investigated 11 batches of the energy drink in Beijing, Harbin, Shangdong and Hubei provinces, and found no banned ingredients. Earlier this month, supermarkets in major Chinese cities took Red Bull off their shelves out of concern that it may contain banned additives. The circular said that the ingredients sodium benzoate, a preservative, and caffeine have been used in accordance with the regulated dose, and the products are safe to drink, providing instructions on target customers and drinking doses are followed. The SFDA told that Red Bull products were approved as health care products functioning as anti-fatigue agents in 1997, and Red Bull corresponded with the regulation to list its main ingredients excluding other additives, including sodium citrate, citric acid, carmine pigment and tartrazine. However, the instructions on the product still do not meet required standards in this area, and Red Bull was ordered to make labels clearer within a limited time, the circular said. Accelerating its supervision of health care products, China will crack down on illegal additives and deceptive advertising to ensure safety, the SFDA said.