Schumer Wants FDA To Take Close Look At Caffeinated Peanut Butter

ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer wants the Food and Drug Administration to investigate a new caffeinated peanut butter that targets the athletic and fitness market.

It's called "STEEM Peanut Butter," and was launched by three friends in Massachusetts last year. Right now, it's sold mostly online and at a few fitness centers and small shops in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The developers say it combines the protein of peanuts with the energy boost of caffeine. They say the caffeine is released slowly because peanut butter takes longer to digest than coffee.

But Schumer says a single serving of STEEM delivers five times more caffeine than a single can of Coke. He says it may pose a health threat, especially to children.

The New York Democrat urged the FDA to investigate the safety of using caffeine in peanut butter.

"Caffeinated peanut butter should spur the agency to address the issue of caffeine," Schumer told reporters Sunday. "They should put limits on how much is allowed, particularly in snack foods and foods that are not ingested for caffeine's sake, like Red Bull. And they should certainly require warning labels.

"Too much caffeine can cause a person to be jittery -- everyone's experienced that. But it can raise their blood pressure, cause heart palpitations and worse."

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