The recall of a highly caffeinated energy drink is raising questions about how the cans of Prime Energy that violated Canada’s health regulations got onto store shelves in the first place.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Tuesday it is recalling cans of Prime Energy that contain 200 milligrams of caffeine after CBC News reported they were being sold in stores in at least three provinces.
Health Canada’s limit for such drinks is 180 milligrams of caffeine. Other brands of energy drinks are also part of the recall.
One food law expert says, most often, items that violate Canada’s health regulations were exported by foreign manufacturers who don’t know the rules.
“[They might be] unaware of the limits of caffeine or is unaware that certain food additives are not harmonized,” between Canada and the U.S., for example, said Glenford Jameson, a lawyer and partner at G.S. Jameson & Co. in Toronto.
It would be up to a distributor to restrict the access, he says.
Social media influencers Logan Paul and KSI meet fans during a Prime promotional event in Copenhagen, Denmark, on June 27. (REUTERS)
But with e-commerce, that can get tricky. Jameson says big online retailers have struggled to follow regulations, but that the industry has seen improvements in making sure products follow each country’s standards.
Another common way is through a third country.
A manufacturer might sell its product into another territory, where a distributor or merchant ends up exporting it to Canada, without letting the manufacturer know.
“They’ve created this product, [it’s] deemed not to be safe or at least not compliant in Canada, yet it’s arriving here, and so then how do they manage that?” he said. “It’s a really difficult problem.”
CBC News purchased a 200-milligram can of Prime Energy at a store in Montreal on Wednesday. Workers there said it was imported from the U.S.
Prime said previously it “complies with federal regulations” in its markets but was unable to explain the presence of the drinks in Canada. The cans with 200 milligrams of caffeine are intended for the U.S. market. The company claims to have a Canadian version with 140 milligrams of caffeine.
Prime did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday about the recall notice.
‘Difficult to police’
Jameson says, even though food and drinks are supposed to be regulated at the border, agencies often miss items.
“If you sort of picture the amount of goods that come into Canada on any given day, it’s sort of difficult to police this sort of thing,” he said.
While the CFIA establishes the rules for food, drink, plants and similar products coming to Canada, it’s the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) that enforces those requirements before the goods are released into Canada, according to the CBSA.
The CFIA is “is often quite reactive,” said Jameson.
“They don’t spend a lot of time patrolling shelves or rifling through boxes at the border,” for lower-risk products like Prime Energy, he said.
Food law expert Glenford Jameson says there are a number of ways items not eligible for sale in Canada can get into the country. (Jennifer La Grassa/CBC)
Dr. Jane Shearer, a kinesiology professor at the University of Calgary, says caffeine shouldn’t be under the CFIA purview because it’s a drug.
“It’s highly problematic,” she said. “I think energy drink companies have been largely in charge here and the Canadian government needs to do more on getting a handle on what’s in the market. This is not the first time we’ve seen products in the market that exceed Health Canada regulations.”
Coffee can sometimes have more than 180 milligrams of caffeine in a single serving, and is not as strictly regulated. But experts say the concern with energy drinks is how they’re marketed and whether it’s to vulnerable demographics.
“It’s framed as being fun, it’s framed as being kind of trendy, it’s framed as being healthy and it’s framed also as optimizing your performance, when all it really is is water with caffeine in it,” said Timothy Caulfield, Canada research chair in health law and policy at the University of Alberta.
Timothy Caulfield is the Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy at the University of Alberta. (David MacIntosh/CBC)
“So I think it makes sense [that] regulators watch products like this to ensure that their claims are justified.”
Consumer safety advocate Jim Shepherd agrees that the branding and marketing of these drinks attracts a younger demographic who could be unaware of the health consequences.
That’s why he wants Canada to ban the sale of all energy drinks to people under 18.
Shepherd, who lives in Toronto, believes that his son Brian’s consumption of a caffeinated energy drink caused the 15-year-old’s death in 2008.
An autopsy found that Brian experienced an acute arrhythmic event following a paintball match. The only drug in his system was caffeine, according to Shepherd.
Brian Shepherd died in 2008 when he was 15 years old. His dad says he collapsed after a paintball match. (Submitted by Jim Shepherd)
It wasn’t until months after Brian’s death that Shepherd said he was told an energy drink company had attended the match and gave out samples of the drink, which his son consumed.
Since then, he’s been advocating for better regulations.
“There’s been some changes, but it’s 100 per cent not enough,” he said.
“They really haven’t properly protected … youth and children. I really don’t care if an adult drinks the drinks, as long as they’re aware and I think that’s the part that’s key is most of them are not aware.”
Over the years, research has shown that these sorts of drinks can have bad health effects on people. This review of recent research says that energy drinks can create anxiety, insomnia, irregular heart rhythms and sometimes death.
Shepherd says he wants to see the CFIA become more proactive and issue more penalties to bad players.
“Unless somebody complains about it if it’s wrong, it’s not going to get corrected,” he said, adding that even when he’s filed complaints he hasn’t seen proper retribution.
Shepherd says he’s been following the buzz created by Prime and knew it was a matter of time before it came to Canada.
“My major concern is with the kids,” he said. “There isn’t awareness from a lot of parents to know what the potential danger that these drinks are.”
Food regulator recalling highly caffeinated energy drink
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is recalling a highly caffeinated version of the Prime energy drink that is not approved for sale in Canada after discovering it was being sold in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta. With influencers endorsing it, experts worry many kids are drinking it and potentially hurting themselves.
The Northern Super League has fleshed out its front office with four appointments.
Jose Maria Celestino da Costa was named vice-president and head of soccer operations while Marianne Brooks was appointed vice-president of partnerships, Kelly Shouldice as vice-president of brand and content and Joyce Sou as vice-president of finance and business operations.
The new six-team women’s pro league is set to kick off in April.
“Their unique expertise and leadership are crucial as we lay the foundation for not just a successful league in Canada, but one that stands among the top sports leagues in the world,” NSL president Christina Litz said in a statement. “By investing in top-tier talent and infrastructure, the Northern Super League is committed to creating a league that will elevate the game and set new standards for women’s professional soccer globally.”
Da Costa will oversee all on-field matters, including officiating. His resume includes stints with Estoril Praia, a men’s first-division team in Portugal, and the Portuguese Soccer Federation, where he helped develop the Portuguese women’s league.
Brooks spent a decade with Canucks Sports & Entertainment, working in “partnership sales and retention efforts” for the Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Warriors, and Rogers Arena. Most recently, she served as senior director of account management at StellarAlgo, a software company that helps pro sports teams connect with their fans
Shouldice has worked for Corus Entertainment, the Canadian Football League, and most recently as vice-president of Content and Communications at True North Sports & Entertainment, where she managed original content as well as business and hockey communications.
Sou, who was involved in the league’s initial launch, will oversee financial planning, analysis and the league’s expansion strategy in her new role.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
MAYERTHORPE, Alta. – An emergency alert has been issued in an area west of Edmonton for two armed men.
RCMP say the men are on foot after a robbery.
They say people in the area of Mayerthorpe should not open their doors to strangers or pick up hitchhikers.
They say the suspects are dangerous and should not be approached.
One man is described as white, about 30 years-old, five feet 11 inches tall, 205 pounds with dark hair and dark eyes, who was last seen wearing a cowboy hat and black sweater.
The other man is six feet tall, about 220 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a black flat brim hat with red letters.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
“Communication is one of the most important skills you require for a successful life.” — Catherine Pulsifer, author.
I’m one hundred percent in agreement with Pulsifer, which is why my evaluation of candidates begins with their writing skills. If a candidate’s writing skills and verbal communication skills, which I’ll assess when interviewing, aren’t well above average, I’ll pass on them regardless of their skills and experience.
Why?
Because business is fundamentally about getting other people to do things—getting employees to be productive, getting customers to buy your products or services, and getting vendors to agree to a counteroffer price. In business, as in life in general, you can’t make anything happen without effective communication; this is especially true when job searching when your writing is often an employer’s first impression of you.
Think of all the writing you engage in during a job search (resumes, cover letters, emails, texts) and all your other writing (LinkedIn profile, as well as posts and comments, blogs, articles, tweets, etc.) employers will read when they Google you to determine if you’re interview-worthy.
With so much of our communication today taking place via writing (email, text, collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, ClickUp, WhatsApp and Rocket.Chat), the importance of proficient writing skills can’t be overstated.
When assessing a candidate’s writing skills, you probably think I’m looking for grammar and spelling errors. Although error-free writing is important—it shows professionalism and attention to detail—it’s not the primary reason I look at a candidate’s writing skills.
The way someone writes reveals how they think.
Clear writing = Clear thinking
Structured paragraphs = Structured mind
Impactful sentences = Impactful ideas
Effective writing isn’t about using sophisticated vocabulary. Hemingway demonstrated that deceptively simple, stripped-down prose can captivate readers. Effective writing takes intricate thoughts and presents them in a way that makes the reader think, “Damn! Why didn’t I see it that way?” A good writer is a dead giveaway for a good thinker. More than ever, the business world needs “good thinkers.”
Therefore, when I come across a candidate who’s a good writer, hence a good thinker, I know they’re likely to be able to write:
Emails that don’t get deleted immediately and are responded to
Simple, concise, and unambiguous instructions
Pitches that are likely to get read
Social media content that stops thumbs
Human-sounding website copy
Persuasively, while attuned to the reader’s possible sensitivities
Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: AI, which job seekers are using en masse. Earlier this year, I wrote that AI’s ability to hyper-increase an employee’s productivity—AI is still in its infancy; we’ve seen nothing yet—in certain professions, such as writing, sales and marketing, computer programming, office and admin, and customer service, makes it a “fewer employees needed” tool, which understandably greatly appeals to employers. In my opinion, the recent layoffs aren’t related to the economy; they’re due to employers adopting AI. Additionally, companies are trying to balance investing in AI with cost-cutting measures. CEOs who’ve previously said, “Our people are everything,” have arguably created today’s job market by obsessively focusing on AI to gain competitive advantages and reduce their largest expense, their payroll.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that most AI usage involves generating written content, content that’s obvious to me, and likely to you as well, to have been written by AI. However, here’s the twist: I don’t particularly care.
Why?
Because the fundamental skill I’m looking for is the ability to organize thoughts and communicate effectively. What I care about is whether the candidate can take AI-generated content and transform it into something uniquely valuable. If they can, they’re demonstrating the skills of being a good thinker and communicator. It’s like being a great DJ; anyone can push play, but it takes skill to read a room and mix music that gets people pumped.
Using AI requires prompting effectively, which requires good writing skills to write clear and precise instructions that guide the AI to produce desired outcomes. Prompting AI effectively requires understanding structure, flow and impact. You need to know how to shape raw information, such as milestones throughout your career when you achieved quantitative results, into a compelling narrative.
So, what’s the best way to gain and enhance your writing skills? As with any skill, you’ve got to work at it.
Two rules guide my writing:
Use strong verbs and nouns instead of relying on adverbs, such as “She dashed to the store.” instead of “She ran quickly to the store.” or “He whispered to the child.” instead of “He spoke softly to the child.”
Avoid using long words when a shorter one will do, such as “use” instead of “utilize” or “ask” instead of “inquire.” As attention spans get shorter, I aim for clarity, simplicity and, most importantly, brevity in my writing.
Don’t just string words together; learn to organize your thoughts, think critically, and communicate clearly. Solid writing skills will significantly set you apart from your competition, giving you an advantage in your job search and career.
Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.
