A buzzy college-favorite drink is courting controversy once again.
On June 10, TikTok user @kylizzlec posted a short, 13-second clip that has since gone viral. In the video, which has more than 2.3 million views and more than 375,000 likes, the TikToker is shocked after discovering a nutritional fact about the Four Loko she’s been drinking.
“pov: we just realized there’s 300 calories in a four loko serving and almost 5 servings per can,” reads an on-screen caption.
The video shows two women with their mouths agape in shock. One holds a can of FourLoko with a straw peeking out of it. “Wait, this can’t be right,” she says.
The TikToker’s video riled people up, becoming a point of interest for many TikTok commenters, with more than 3,000 people sharing their thoughts.
“I get so scared with Alcohol calories😭,” wrote one user on the platform.
“Wait so it’s like 1,500 for one can????? 😭😭 bruh I’m never drinking a four loko again,” wrote another commenter, with someone else asking, “Why do they not have to put the calories on the can like any other food or drink ?”
Four Loko doesn’t list the nutrition facts on its website or packaging, but does list its Alcohol By Volume content. The lowest ABV the brand sells is 12.9% in flavors like its Strawberry Lemonade and Watermelon, and its highest ABV is 13.9% per 23.5 ounces in its Jungle Juice and Gold flavors.
According to its website, Four Loko is “a premium malt beverage” — which means it contains malted barley. The brand also lists “natural and artificial flavors” as ingredients on its site.
The FDA first began requiring nutritional labeling on food and drink in 1990, after two decades of allowing companies to voluntarily apply them. Still, alcoholic beverages aren’t regulated by the FDA, but by a different federal agency called the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, which doesn’t require nutritional labeling.
The TTB says it considers calorie, carbohydrate, protein and other nutritional statements to be misleading unless the products list the amounts based on a single serving.
Since the calorie count isn’t made clear by Four Loko itself, curious drinkers like the TikToker have turned to other websites claiming to have the information.
“I look up ‘how many calories are in a green apple Four Loko,’” @kylizzlec said in a follow-up video viewed by TODAY.com that has since been deleted.
“The first thing that came up was it saying that there were 350 calories per serving,” she said. “Then we looked at the back of the can and the only thing under nutrition facts was that there was five ounces in a serving and that there were like almost five servings in the whole can.”
According to grocery store product listings, the label shown is actually for alcohol facts, not nutrition facts.
Some commenters disagreed with the OP’s assessment, with some tossing out other numbers.
Representatives for Four Loko parent company Phusion Projects did not immediately respond to TODAY.com’s request for comment.
What’s not in Four Loko? Caffeine
In 2010, Phusion Projects announced it was removing caffeine and two other ingredients from its products. This announcement came after the Food and Drug Administration warned the company it would take action against brands combining alcohol with stimulants like caffeine.
Now, the Four Loko website’s FAQ says it no longer contains ingredients such as caffeine, guarana or taurine, calling them potential health dangers.
“As part of a voluntary product reformulation in 2010, we removed those ingredients from the product, which is why we can confidently say Four Lokos aren’t dangerous when consumed responsibly,” the company wrote.
Phusion Projects notes that it wants customers to consume its products responsibly — “that means not chugging a Four Loko.”
