Read an EU high-caffeine warning in context
Check the beverage category and concentration behind the EU warning rule, including coffee and tea exceptions, without inventing a personal safe intake.
A caffeine warning is useful only when you know which rule it reflects. On an EU beverage, absence of the high-caffeine statement does not by itself establish zero caffeine. Start with the food name, its preparation state and any quantity actually declared.
Check the rule before comparing the wording
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex III point 4.1, addresses beverages with more than 150 mg caffeine per litre, from any source, as consumed or after reconstitution. It requires the specified warning and caffeine quantity in mg per 100 ml. The provision has an exception for coffee- or tea-based beverages when coffee or tea appears in the food's name.
That is a category and concentration rule, not a threshold declaring an amount suitable for a particular person. A different provision addresses certain non-beverage foods with caffeine added for a physiological purpose; do not apply the beverage worksheet to those automatically.
Work through a hypothetical label
Suppose a fictional ready-to-drink beverage has an established caffeine concentration of 200 mg/L. Assume for this example that it is within point 4.1 and does not meet the coffee or tea naming exception.
| Check | Result |
|---|---|
| Compare 200 with 150 mg/L | 200 is greater than 150 |
| Express 200 mg/L per 100 ml | 200 ÷ 10 = 20 mg/100 ml |
| Interpret the example | The concentration condition is met under the stated assumptions |
These numbers describe an invented product. They are not permission to infer a concentration from a missing statement. For a powder, record whether the figure concerns the reconstituted drink and the stated preparation; a dry-powder mass cannot simply be compared with a beverage-volume threshold.
Keep an absent warning as an open question
For an actual package, record its exact name, market, preparation instructions and declared caffeine quantity. If the name identifies a tea-based beverage, investigate the relevant exception before describing the package as noncompliant. If the category or quantity is unresolved, retain that uncertainty.
Do not replace a missing quantity with 149 mg/L, zero or the amount in another flavor. The absence of one statement cannot supply those measurements. Keep this classification exercise separate from advice about pregnancy, children, medication interactions or personal caffeine intake.
To explore label-reading tools, open Ingredi AI on the App Store or Google Play. Verify that any saved reading keeps the concentration unit, food name and preparation basis together.