FDA cracks down on Lazy Larry, a brownie with melatonin

Joliet Jake Blues: “How often does the train go by?”

Elwood Blues: “So often that you won’t even notice it.”

The Blues Brothers Movie, 1980.

The first question I asked Amy upon arriving at our Brisbane apartment in Annerly was, “How often does the train go by?”

“So often that you won’t even notice it.”

This is urban living (our new sleeping arrangements, right, not exactly as shown).

Amy also wanted me to take some melatonin to help adjust my biological clock to the 15-hour time change. I don’t have natural rhythms (or rhythm).

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has some concerns as well, and is cracking down on a brownie containing melatonin that’s marketed to help people relax and fall asleep: it’s called "Lazy Larry."

"They have a lovely little picture of a relaxed little man," said Katherine Madere
A list of ingredients on the packaging include sugar, flour, oil, cocoa, egg, salt along with melatonin.

On store shelves since late 2010, "Lazy Cakes," now called "Lazy Larry," are marketed according to a press release as "the chocolate alternative to medication and narcotics that can help you relax and fall asleep."

"The FDA has very recently come down and [issued] a warning to the makers of ‘Lazy Cakes,’ now ‘Lazy Larry’ that they’re touting them incorrectly," said Dr. Kim Edward LeBlanc with LSU’s Health Sciences Center School of Medicine.
LeBlanc said the "Lazy Larry" relaxation brownie product is breaking federal regulations.

"The melatonin that they’re putting in these brownies and cakes is a food additive; because of that it runs afoul of FDA law. You can have melatonin in a tablet form, which is a supplement, which is okay. But when you add it to a food that changes the whole equation," LeBlanc said.

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time