New York A popular energy drink, produced by a company founded by an Indian-American billionaire, has come under the scanner in the US after reports of 13 deaths possibly linked to the energy shots.

However, Lucknow-born CEO of '5-Hour Energy', Manoj Bhargava dismissed the allegations against his firm as "false" and "ridiculous". The popular energy drink is being investigated by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) after 13 deaths over the last four years were reported, citing the drink as probable cause.

Energy drinks in India will have to strip off their “energy” tag and instead be renamed as “caffeinated beverage”. According to new standards being laid down by the Food Safety and Standards of India (FSSAI), such beverages must also carry a safety warning for consumers stating that such drinks are not recommended for “children, pregnant or lactating women, persons sensitive to caffeine and sportspersons” as well as “no more than two cans to be consumed per day”.

FSSAI decided to tighten rules in the energy-drink sector after health concerns related to the high caffeine content of non-alchoholic, caffeinated drinks were raised almost two years ago. At their recent meeting, the FSSAI finalised the new standards for such drinks.

New Delhi/Mumbai Reigning cola brands Coke, Thums Up and Pepsi and energy drinks such as Red Bull are set to lose a bit of their fizz with the government planning to make it mandatory for caffeinated beverages to flash a statutory warning stating they are not the ‘the right thing’ for certain sections of the population.

The Union health ministry may soon ask manufacturers of caffeinated drinks to carry the warning ‘Not recommended for children, pregnant or lactating women, persons sensitive to caffeine’ on the principal display panel of their products in a typeface sufficiently large and bold so that the message doesn’t go unnoticed.

New Delhi: Energy drinks being sold in India have dangerous levels of caffeine, NGO Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has said after conducting lab tests in which 44% of their samples failed the maximum permissible limits as prescribed by the government.

CSE carried out tests on leading

Energy drinks touted to have major health benefits are so packed with caffeine that they can cause more harm than good, according to the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment which is calling for strict regulatory controls over caffeine content in drinks like Red Bull and Cloud 9.

CSE said tests carried out on leading brands like Red Bull and Cloud 9 found high levels of caffeine in 44

Sharadha Narayanan | ENS

Red Bull has 329 parts per million caffeine, while the permitted level in the country is 145 ppm