FUZE, A Horrible Trend in Potentially Dangerous Products

I received a bottle FUZE (owned by Coke) on Bay Street the first week of Jan but held back posting about it for several reasons.

1. I'm generally suspicious about these designer vitamin drinks and wanted to do some research about them.

2. I won't drink anything melon flavored, even if you water it down with copious amounts of vodka/rum/gin etc.

3. My guinea pig didn't drink immediately it after I finally got around to taking the photo

4. I forgot!

I'm glad I forgot because now I can reference this article from the Ottawa Citizen on how vitamin drinks and other products are both unregulated and potentially dangerous because the government has given them exceptions to testing because of backlogs in licensing.

The example given in the story is actually about a FUZE product

If you down one Orange Mango FUZE Vitalize in a day, you'd be well advised to avoid milk, eggs and other animal products that day. The fruit drink is boosted with so much vitamin A, some nutritionists say it could be risky for your health to consume any other items that contain the nutrient.

The amount of vitamin A in Coca-Cola's fruit drink is well above Heath Canada's recommended daily intake. In fact, it hits the government's tolerable upper intake level for adults. That maximum daily level was established after evidence showed that consuming more of vitamin A in the retinol form -- the type contained in this drink -- may cause liver abnormalities and, if consumed by pregnant women, birth defects.

Great product, Mango Flavored Birth Defect drink,

I don't know who I'm more pissed off at, the Government for giving out exception numbers to products like this or FUZE for selling a potentially dangerous product.

This stuff is not a medicine, it's a beverage. How many people would even notice the warning to consume no more than bottle per day, let alone read it? I think its an unreasonable expectation. Worse, 1 per day is till more than a teen should consume and nearly twice the limit of a child. Are vendors expected to warn children from buying it?

Face it people, it you want to be healthy eat properly, exercise a bit and don't self medicate massive doses of vitamins in pill or beverage form.

Untasted by me, I give FUZE a fail.