ICON DECODER
COMPANY RATINGS | |
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No rating |
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Praises, some criticism |
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Criticism, some praise |
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Criticisms |
Note: Ratings are based on company record, including parent companies.
They are not a comment on the product itself. |
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Australian Owned |
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Outstanding Product Feature |
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Industry Alert |
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Animal Ingredients Alert |
IssuesWhat do you value? > Animal testing > Conflict minerals > Factory farming > Food miles > Genetic engineering > Labour exploitation > Nanotechnology > Overfishing > Packaging & waste > Palm oil > See all |
CategoriesWhat do you buy? > Baby > Clothing > Electronics > Food & Drink > Household > Office Supplies > Personal Care > Pets > Retail > Toys > See all |
Energy Drinks
The Guide > Food & Drink > Drinks > Energy Drinks |
Caffeine
Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance in the world. It is highly addictive and causes unpleasant withdrawal symptoms (headaches being the most common) if you stop drinking it suddenly. Most people get their caffeine fixes from coffee and tea, but it is also present in cola drinks, energy drinks and chocolate (the darker the chocolate, the more caffeine it contains).
Caffeine is a strong diuretic and can cause insomnia, tremors and reduced fertility in men. It's bad news for pregnant women too.
[More]
- Typical caffeine quantities: Red Bull (250ml can) - 80mg; Mother (500ml can) - 160mg; Coca-Cola can - 40mg; Coffee - 80-100mg typically; Tea - about half that of coffee (varies greatly); A chocolate bar - up to 10mg
- Find out how much caffeine you consume each day using Choice's Caffeine calculator. [Caffeine calculator]
Food Additives - Benzoates
This product type is may contain benzoates (additive numbers 210 - 218). Benzoates are commonly found in soft drinks, cordials, and medicine.
[Fedup
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- "In drinks, the combination of sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate (212) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C, both naturally occurring and the additive 300) can result in the formation of benzene, a known carcinogen. FSANZ tested 68 flavoured drinks, including flavoured mineral waters, cordial, fruit juice and fruit drinks, and found 38 of the samples contained trace levels of benzene. While the majority had benzene levels below WHO guidelines for drinking water (10 ppb ' parts per billion), a number contained levels of 1 ppb and above ' up to 40 ppb. 1 ppb is the reference level for benzene in Australia's more stringent drinking water guidelines." [Choice report 2008]
- Avoid 210, 211, 212, 213, 216, 218
- See the Chemical Maze app and book to instantly identify food additives with ease. Comprehensive food additive information at your fingertips. [The Chemical Maze]
- For food additives derived from animal products. [VNV]
- See safe food additive alternatives. [Fedup]
Possible Animal Products
Amino acids can be from animal or plant sources, artificial colouring (Information compiled by Aduki)
BRAND | COMPANY | OWNED | RATING |
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Insane | Bickford's Australia | ![]() |
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Solis | Saxbys Soft Drinks | ![]() |
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Lucozade | Frucor Suntory (Suntory) | JPN | ![]() |
Rockstar | Frucor Suntory (Suntory) Brand Owner: Rockstar |
JPN | ![]() |
V | Frucor Suntory (Suntory) | JPN | ![]() |
Pink | Pink Energy | ![]() |
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Red Eye | Red Eye International | ![]() |
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Wicked | Tru Blu Beverages | ![]() |
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Glucodin | iNova (Valeant) | CAN | ![]() |
Mother | Coca-Cola Amatil | ![]() |
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Powerade | Coca-Cola Amatil | ![]() |
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Berocca | Bayer Australia (Bayer) | GER | ![]() |
Monster | Monster Beverage Co Distributor: Coca-Cola Amatil |
USA | ![]() |
Red Bull | Red Bull Australia (Red Bull) | AUT | ![]() |