Caffeine exposure from beverages and its association with self-reported sleep duration and quality in a large sample of Icelandic adolescents

Funding Information: This work was supported by funding from the Icelandic Ministry of Industries and Innovation. The Ministry had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or reporting. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The AuthorsPrevious risk assessments have concluded that adolescent's caffeine exposure from energy drinks (ED) are of limited concern. Recent surveys have, however, shown substantial increase in consumption. This cross-sectional survey conducted in 2020 estimated caffeine exposure from beverages among ∼80% of all 13-15-year-old adolescents (n = 10358) relative to the European Food Safety Authority's level of no safety concern of (3.0 mg/kg bw) and level for effects on sleep (1.4 mg/kg bw). Associations with self-reported sleep duration and quality were also explored. ED consumers were more likely to exceed the limit of no safety concern (prevelance: 12–14%) compared to non-ED-consumers (1–2%). Exceeding the limit for effects on sleep was also higher among ED consumers (31–38%) than non-ED-consumers (5–8%). Across categories of low (3.0 mg/kg bw) caffeine intake, the prevalence of participants sleeping <6 h increased from 3% to 24%, respectively. The corresponding adjusted Prevalence Ratio was 4.5 (95% CI: 3.6, 5.7) and mean decrease in duration of sleep was 0.74 h (95% CI: 0.65, 0.84). In conclusion, caffeine intake from beverages above the limit of no safety concern was largely confined to ED consumers. Consistent with effects from intervention studies in adults, caffeine intake was strongly associated with self-reported sleep duration in this representative population.Peer reviewe

An introduction to current food safety needs

Food safety is embedded in food-related problems, and in proposed solutions. Despite continuous investment, the WHO estimates 23 million cases of foodborne illness and 5000 deaths in Europe every year and Europeans are not confident in the food system. Now, the circular economy aims to improve global food security through sustainable production, thus new ingredients, methods and food safety challenges. Food is unequivocally linked to non-communicable diseases, and changes are needed for nutritional food safety. Emerging and re-emerging foodborne pathogens are changing the epidemiology of foodborne diseases. Additionally, some chemicals are of concern, and food is a major source of human exposure. Finally, risk communication is required for management of consumer-based foodborne hazards, yet this foodborne illness is common. We ignore food safety challenges at our peril as potential consequences of a lapse are huge; keeping the food supply safe is a never-ending task.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

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