mcdonald’s delays launch of red bull collaboration in quebec over energy drink ban
1 minute read
tim snow
/
montreal gazette
stop us if you've heard this one before: quebec is missing out on a canada-wide fast food offering. only this time, it's because of new legislation.in june, the province became the first in the country to make it illegal to sell or give energy drinks to people under the age of 16.as a result, mcdonald's new red bull energizer drinks — dragonberry and tropicberry — will not be available in quebec. the rest of the country will be able to purchase the colourful beverages as of tuesday.according to the company, it's not an outright ban, but a temporary delay."mcdonald’s canada is committed to operating in full compliance with all provincial regulations as we introduce red bull energizers nationwide," the company told the gazette in a statement."in light of recent changes to this category of beverages in the province of quebec, we are temporarily delaying the launch in quebec until we fully understand the compliance requirements."the quebec law was enacted in response to the 2024 death of 15-year-old zachary miron, who died after a red bull he drank interacted with his medication.on mcdonald's website, it warns of the new drinks' high caffeine content. a 485-ml serving contains 80 mg of caffeine, or the equivalent of a single 250-ml can of red bull.according to the quebec government, the amount of caffeine in energy drinks varies between 50 and 180 mg of caffeine. a cup of filter coffee contains about 100 to 140 mg of caffeine.the refreshers also contain between 39 to 41 g of sugar, or 39 to 41 per cent of the recommended daily value.for comparison, a medium-sized 590-ml coca-cola contains 52 g of sugar.on the online menu, the drinks come with a health canada caution that they are not recommended for those under 14 years old, pregnant or breastfeeding, and to not drink more than two servings per day.under quebec's new legislation, vendors must ask for photo id when selling energy drinks and they can no longer be sold in vending machines or online.
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