Influencer and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler Logan Paul is no stranger to controversy — and now his sports drink company, Prime, has caught the attention of U.S. lawmakers.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate Prime and its caffeine levels, saying that the product is marketed to children.
Schumer Tweeted that the caffeine content in the beverage is “absurd” and that it could “endanger kids’ health.”
PRIME Energy Drink has so much caffeine that it could endanger kids’ health.
But it’s being marketed to kids!
Parents and pediatricians are worried.
The FDA must investigate PRIME for its absurd caffeine content and its marketing targeting kids on social media. https://t.co/8f8Udp3dZu
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 9, 2023
The senator’s original comments came at a press conference in New York, according to the New York Post, where Schumer said the beverage was being marketed as a “status symbol for kids” and that the caffeine content inside of it puts rival Red Bull “to shame.”
“Buyer and parents beware, because it’s a serious health concern for the kids it so feverishly targets,” he said. “PRIME is born from the wheels of social media and the enigmatic world of influencers. Kids see it on their phone as they scroll, and then they actually have a need for it. And the problem here is that the product has so much caffeine in it that it puts Red Bull to shame.”
Paul’s Prime comes with a warning on its can that it is not intended for consumers under 18, but Schumer is calling for more explicit warnings.
According to the ingredients on the can, one 12-ounce can of Prime has approximately 200 milligrams of caffeine.
In comparison to its competitors, that’s roughly 100 more milligrams than a 12-ounce can of Red Bull which has 120 milligrams, and roughly 80 more than a 12-ounce can of Monster Energy, which has 122 milligrams.
Neither Paul nor Prime has publicly commented on Schumer’s accusations. Sen. Schumer’s office did not immediately return a request for comment. Prime did not immediately return a request for comment.
This story originally appeared on Entrepreneur
