ST. LOUIS -- Anheuser-Busch Cos. quietly halted production of its Spykes malt beverages for a week last month after the U.S. government ruled that the labeling violated federal law, reported the Wall Street Journal.
The Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau said the mandatory health-warning statements included on each of the eight flavors of the two-oz. beverages were too difficult to read. The warnings contained 41 to 47 characters per inch, exceeding the maximum of 40. In addition, for three of the flavors, the label's background made the text [image-nocss] hard to read, the agency said. The warnings alert consumers that alcoholic beverages can cause health problems, impair driving abilities or cause birth defects.
The St. Louis brewer voluntarily stopped production for a week before bringing its labels up to code, Francine Katz, A-B's vice president for communications told the newspaper.
A-B was not asked to recall products on store shelves, and the company replaced labels on drinks that had been shipped to its wholesalers or that were stored in its warehouse. Katz said the original labels had received approval from state and federal authorities.
Spykes drinks contain 12% alcohol by volume, caffeine, ginseng and guarana and come in flavors such as Hot Chocolate. Some advocacy groups and politicians have lambasted Anheuser for its marketing of Spykes, claiming the company subtly seeks to entice underage drinkers.
Twenty-nine state attorneys general signed a letter addressed to August A. Busch IV, A-B's CEO, expressing their serious concern about the company's promotion and sale of caffeine-infused alcoholic beverages. Katz said their concerns were misplaced. Underage drinkers seek instant impact, she told the Journal, and a bottle of Spykes contains alcohol equivalent only to a third of a glass of wine.
The Tax & Trade Bureau took action in response to a mid-April complaint from the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, which claimed the labels on the Spicy Lime version of Spykes drinks were seriously out of compliance. The CSPI, one of the most vocal critics of Spykes, said the health warning was virtually impossible to read without a magnifying glass, according to the report.
In an April 30 letter to the advocacy group, the Tax & Trade Bureau said it agreed with the group's findings and was working with A-B to correct the problem. The agency noted that A-B was adding new tamper-proof labels for different flavors of Spykes to make it clearer they contain alcohol, in addition to addressing the issue of text size.
The beverages have been sold nationwide since January. The CSPI in April called on A-B to recall the drinks. The CSPI still wants A-B to discontinue the product.
Spykes drinks come in colorful bottles and sell for 75 cents to $1. According to the Web site for the beverage, Spykes can be consumed as a shot or be used to spice up your beer or invent a new cocktail.
Attorneys general from Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, (District of Columbia), Florida, (Guam), Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming signed the letter.
Click here to view the AGs' letter.
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