It’s so easy to continue to slam the FDA–I practically have a whole file of blogs devoted to food or beverage issues where they have been MIA or just plain late to the party. In a few instances, they wiggled around the complexity of the issue. Yet, every once in a while, I am encouraged. Today is one of those days.

Caffeinated alcoholic drinks have been questionable products for some time, and now, at the urging of numerous state attorneys general, the FDA is going to take action. They have finally figured out that scrutiny is needed, and their letter to 30 beverage companies marks the beginning of a commonsense approach to a serious behavioral safety issue.

They plan to study the safety and legality of these booster beverages. It goes like this, caffeine has been approved in soft drinks as long as it does not exceed 200 parts per million. The caffeine-added alcoholic beverages have questionable scientific approval, and the law specifically states an additive, in this case the caffeine, cannot be considered safe unless it has received prior FDA approval. Caffeine has not been approved as an additive in alcoholic beverages.

Several large alcohol beverage companies (Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors) took their alcohol-energy drinks off the market well in advance of this Agency scrutiny, but not without prior negative publicity. There are currently no shortage of such combo high-powered drinks. For instance, Tilt is still available, but without the caffeine.

Beverage safety remains an appropriate concern. Without scientific evidence and valid data, it is questionable whether these “drugs,” or so-called beverages, can remain in the marketplace.

You know how much I love my caffeine, but this type of caffeine booster has become a safety concern: A combination of an additive to an already potentially powerful beverage.

This is no ordinary caffeine high.