XL enery drink
Energy drink withholds Hebrew alcohol warning
Can of energy drink XL specifically directs consumers, in English, 'Don't mix with alcohol.' Hebrew text on can makes no mention of hazard. Health Ministry says the importer must add warning
Energy drinks are an inseparable part of the night life scene. Red Bull, Tempo's XI, XL, and other similar drinks compete for the drinkers' pocket change. One very popular trend is to mix an energy drink with alcohol, so you not only get buzzed but also energized. However, not everything common is always recommended.
The XL energy drink, for example, imported by a company from Nazareth, has an explicit warning written on the can in English: "Do not mix with alcohol." However, the importing company didn't bother translating this bit of information to Hebrew, and the can lacks a warning for Israeli drinkers.
The health ministry said in response that "Israel has no law that enforces such warnings. At the same time, many importers of energy drinks do label their products with such warnings. According to Israeli regulations, the Israeli label must correspond to the one in English. The importer is required the fix the deficient label immediately."
The importer said in response: "There is no health risk associated with the product. It is only a recommendation given to teenagers in Britain so they won't mix this drink with alcohol. The ingredients in XL are exactly the same as in Red Bull, which has no warning about mixing it with alcohol – because Red Bull's importer deleted the English warning. I will ask the manufacturer in England to delete the warning from the cans they supply me, and I will not be obligated to write it in Hebrew."
XL is second to the top selling Red Bull energy drink with an estimated market share of 14 percent. XL was introduced in Israel about a year ago mainly because of its relatively low cost of NIS 4-5 (about one dollar).
