Sarah Katz Caffeine Safety Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Sarah Katz Caffeine Safety Act creates new caffeine disclosure and review duties. Chain restaurants and similar retail food establishments with 20 or more locations must mark standard or temporary menu items that contain added caffeine and at least 150 milligrams of total caffeine per serving with a 'High caffeine' statement or similar FDA-approved symbol next to the item on menus, menu boards, and drive-through menu boards. The bill also treats any food or dietary supplement with more than 10 milligrams of caffeine as misbranded unless the label states the milligrams of caffeine, whether caffeine is naturally occurring or added, and a healthy-adult daily recommended limit of 400 milligrams or another HHS-set limit. FDA must review caffeine and stimulant safety, including GRAS status, added caffeine, stimulant blends, guarana, taurine, thresholds, and regulatory updates, while NIH reviews effects on children, adolescents, people with heart conditions, pregnant or breastfeeding women, people with seizure disorders, mental health conditions, caffeine sensitivity, and other vulnerable populations. GAO must study misleading marketing and marketing targeted to children and teens. FDA and NIH each receive $1 million authorizations.
Who Benefits and How
Consumers benefit from menu and label disclosures showing high-caffeine items, caffeine milligrams, whether caffeine is added, and recommended daily limits. Children and adolescents benefit from NIH review and GAO scrutiny of caffeinated beverage marketing targeted at young people. People with heart conditions, seizure disorders, mental health conditions, pregnancy, breastfeeding, or caffeine sensitivity benefit from focused safety review of stimulant effects. Public health researchers benefit from FDA, NIH, and GAO reports on caffeine safety, stimulant blends, and marketing practices.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Chain restaurants with high-caffeine menu items must update menus, menu boards, and drive-through menu boards with FDA-approved disclosures. Food and dietary supplement manufacturers must label products containing more than 10 milligrams of caffeine with caffeine amount, source, and daily-limit advisory statements. FDA, NIH, and GAO must conduct safety and marketing reviews and publish reports within short deadlines. Caffeinated beverage marketers face scrutiny over misleading claims and targeting of children and teens.
Key Provisions
- Requires chain restaurants to flag added-caffeine standard or temporary menu items with at least 150 milligrams per serving as high caffeine.
- Requires foods and dietary supplements above 10 milligrams of caffeine to label caffeine amount, source, and daily recommended limit.
- Directs FDA and NIH to review caffeine, stimulant blends, vulnerable populations, and regulatory needs with $1 million authorizations each.
- Directs GAO to study misleading caffeinated beverage marketing and marketing targeted at children and teens.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires high-caffeine menu disclosures, caffeine amount and advisory labels for foods and dietary supplements above 10 milligrams, FDA and NIH caffeine safety reviews, and a GAO study on caffeinated beverage marketing.
Key Policy Areas
Food Safety, Consumer Protection, Public Health
Primary Purpose
Requires high-caffeine menu disclosures, caffeine amount and advisory labels for foods and dietary supplements above 10 milligrams, FDA and NIH caffeine safety reviews, and a GAO study on caffeinated beverage marketing.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Consumers buying caffeinated products
- Children and adolescents
- Caffeine-sensitive consumers
- Public health researchers
Identified Costs
- Chain restaurants
- Caffeinated food manufacturers
- Food and Drug Administration
- Caffeinated beverage marketers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Ms. …
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Caffeinated food manufacturers, Chain restaurants
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology