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FOOD&DRINK

Sale of popular Prime energy drink ‘not legal’ in Denmark

Sales of the ‘Prime’ energy drink, made popular by social media influencers, are illegal in Denmark, the Nordic country’s Veterinary and Food Administration has stated.

Sale of popular Prime energy drink 'not legal' in Denmark
The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration has stated that sale of the imported 'Prime' energy drink is illegal in Denmark. File photo: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix

The agency has advised five different companies in the last week to cease selling the imported product, it said in a statement.

The drink can include ingredients not approved for sale in Denmark because they have not been given the relevant health approvals.

“If a product has not been reviewed then it is not legal to sell it in Denmark,” head of department Henrik Dammand Nielsen with the Veterinary and Food Administration (Fødevarestyrelsen) said in the statement.

Prime energy drinks contain a higher quantity of caffeine than Danish standards permit, according to the agency. The maximum caffeine content for energy drinks is 32 milligrams per 100 millilitres.

“If a producer such as Prime adds more vitamins, minerals, amino acids or caffeine than is allowed, there will be a risk to the consumer,” Nielsen said.

“That’s why it’s a requirement that products with additives are reviewed so the Veterinary and Food Administration can ensure harmful products don’t enter the market,” he said.

Prime has seen huge demand in other countries including the United States and UK after it was promoted and popularised by Logan Paul and KSI, social media influencers with huge followings.

Sales of the drink on secondary markets can reach prices several times higher than the regular retail cost.

Local media TV2 Kosmopol last week quoted a police officer who said that customers “shouted and screamed and disturbed traffic” outside a store in Copenhagen where free samples of Prime were being offered.

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POLICE

Hundreds of kilos of drugs wash up on Danish beaches

Several bags and packages containing narcotics have been washed up on beaches in and near the town of Sjællands Odde, police in Denmark said on Monday.

Hundreds of kilos of drugs wash up on Danish beaches

Bags and packages filled with drugs, weighing a total of 840 kilograms, have been discovered by Central and West Zealand police washed up on beaches in the region this weekend.

The discoveries were described by senior investigator Kim Løvkvist as “remarkable”.

“At the current time we have no knowledge of where the drugs come from, how long they’ve been in the water, or even if it was meant for someone in Denmark,” he told newswire Ritzau.

Those points will form part of the police investigation, he said.

“But it looks like drug smuggling gone wrong,” he added.

Some of the packages have been tested and confirmed as containing cocaine. The others are yet to be tested but are also thought to be cocaine.

The exact amount will also be confirmed by additional tests.

The first discoveries of the drugs were made on Saturday afternoon, when several bags filled with drugs were discovered by members of the public who were walking on a beach near the town of Sjællands Odde.

Additional bags, also containing drugs, were found washed up along the coast in nearby locations including Sejerø bay and Sejerø island.

A total of 18 sports holdalls taped to life jackets and lights were found by police.

“We would strongly advise the public not to take potential narcotics home with them,” senior inspector Løvkvist said in a statement on Sunday. Any walkers who find more bags should contact the police immediately, he said.

Since the initial find, police have intensified their search of the area, using boats, drones and military aircraft.

Løvkvist said the amount of drugs was the “largest ever” he had seen wash up in Denmark.

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