WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer has called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to step in and immediately halt Palcohol – a new and obviously dangerous powdered alcoholic product – from getting federal approval and hitting store shelves this fall. Palcohol is easily concealable, can be mixed with water and sprinkled onto food, and can even be snorted. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) regulates the alcohol industry as it relates to taxation and labeling, and recently approved Palcohol’s labels only to quickly rescind those approvals the same day. However, TTB and Palcohol have noted that the temporary repeal of those approvals is only due to a technical, and easily addressed, issue with the amount of powdered alcohol in each package. Palcohol plans to soon resubmit the labels for approval, which could be the last step before the product is produced and marketed to the general public this year.
Schumer is therefore asking the FDA to swiftly step in to stop these approvals, given that the agency shares authority with, and can supersede the TTB in regulating alcohol products when there are significant health concerns, like in the case of Four Loko. Schumer said that the FDA should look into the obvious health concerns surrounding Palcohol so that the product does not ever reach store shelves and create a mind-boggling array of serious consequences and tragedy. Schumer was joined by Josh Lafazan, a member of the Syosset Board of Education and a representative of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence.
“With powdered alcohol on its way to store shelves by this fall, we’re sitting on a powder keg. Clearly our food and drug safety experts must step in before this mind-boggling product, surely to become the Kool-Aid of teen binge drinking, sees the light of day,” said Schumer on Monday, May 5.. “Palcohol can be easily concealed and brought into concerts, school dances and sporting events, it can be sprinkled on food and can even be snorted. Given that the federal TTB can only judge and approve new alcohol products based on labeling and taxation, it’s clear the FDA must utilize their authority to intervene when alcohol products create significant health risks – as they did with Four Loko – and stop this potentially deadly product in its tracks.”
Palcohol is made by company Lipsmark LLC, and is freeze dried alcohol produced in a powder form. According to their website, the company plans to release six types of Palcohol packets including vodka, Puerto Rican rum, cosmopolitan, mojito, powderita (margarita) and lemon drop. The vodka and rum pouches can be combined with water or another liquid to instantly create an alcoholic beverage. The company also suggests adding Palcohol to food like guacamole, salads and sauce.
The company’s original website brazenly suggested different ways in which Palcohol could be used. The company suggested illegally bringing Palcohol to stadium events to avoid overpriced drinks. The company also suggested combining Palcohol with foods after they are cooked; some suggestions included: vodka on eggs and rum on a sandwich. The company explained that Palcohol could be snorted to get drunk “almost instantly.” This version of the website has since been taken down.
Palcohol was originally approved by TTB, which was then rescinded on April 21st due to a discrepancy in the “fill level” for each packet, or the amount of powder in each pouch. Lipsmark agreed to surrender the label, but has noted that “This doesn’t mean that Palcohol isn’t approved. It just means that these labels aren’t approved. We will re-submit labels.” Schumer said that while the resubmission date is unknown, the company still notes their expectation that the product will be available for sale this fall.
Schumer noted his grave concern that the TTB does not have the legal authority to disapprove Palcohol’s labels based on health risk, and therefore called on the FDA to intervene. Schumer explained that a 1976 district court ruling determined the roles and overlap between TTB and the FDA when it comes to regulating alcoholic beverages. Following that decision, the TTB and FDA came to a memorandum of understanding that gave TTB primary regulatory control over alcohol, but gave FDA the ability to raise concerns and investigate unsafe products. For example, the FDA stopped companies from selling Four Loko even after the TTB approved the product. Schumer is asking the agency to prevent the product from ever hitting the shelves, to avoid hospitalizations and death that are likely to follow, particularly when the product’s dangers are largely unknown in the first few months of availability.
Schumer also got involved with Four Loko and urged the FDA and FTC to ban the drink based on serious risks to consumer health and safety. In 2010, after agreeing to investigate, the FDA ruled that caffeine was an unsafe food additive to alcoholic beverages, effectively making products like Four Loko prohibited for sale in the United States.
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Preceding provided by U.S. Senator Charles Schumer of New York