Powdered, just-add-water booze threatens to become the “Kool-Aid of teenage binge drinking” and should be barred from the market, US Sen. Charles Schumer said on Sunday.
“It can be sprinkled on food and even snorted . . . What’s to stop a bad individual from sprinkling powdered alcohol into someone’s lunch or dinner when they’re not looking? This can be really dangerous,” Schumer said at a press conference at his Midtown office.
“Palcohol can be easily concealed and brought into concerts, school dances and sporting events. We don’t want kids to be dying and hospitalized before the FDA abolishes it,” he warned.
“I’m calling on the Food and Drug Administration, the FDA, to immediately step in, investigate Palcohol based on its obvious health risks and prohibit this ludicrous product from going to market,’’ the New York Democrat said.
A representative for Lipsmark LLC — the Tempe, Ariz.-based maker of Palcohol — could not be immediately reached for comment.
Palcohol — a powdered alcohol — was nearly approved last month by the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, which has the power to approve certain products that involve alcohol or tobacco. The FDA, however, can overrule the agency if it believes an item poses a significant health concern.
TTB initially gave Palcohol the green light, but later reversed itself, saying it had made an “error.” Lipsmark blamed the snafu on a labeling mistake and said it would resubmit its proposal.
“Palcohol is nearly guaranteed to promote unsafe drinking among teenagers and young adults, among others,” Schumer said.
Schumer mocked the manufacturer’s suggested uses of Palcohol — which included putting its margarita mix in guacamole and incorporating its cosmopolitan powder into a salad.
“Really absurd and frankly scary,” Schumer said.
“Most frightening of all, the company explained that Palcohol could be snorted to get drunk almost instantly,” the senator added.
Additional reporting by David K. Li