The Federal Drug Administration is hoping to lessen the “blackout in a can” affect of the popular energy alcohol drink Four Loko after releasing a statement Wednesday claiming the combination of alcohol and caffeine is dangerous to drink.

Phusion Projects LLC, the Chicago-based company behind Four Loko, will be removing caffeine from the beverage after the FDA threatened to ban the drink for being dangerous.

Four Loko is an alcoholic energy drink, containing caffeine, guarana and taurine, and it has 12 percent alcohol by volume in 23.5 ounces, equaling about four standard beers.

The FDA said in a statement that four companies, including Phusion, were warned products containing a mixture of both alcohol and caffeine would be seized should production of them continue.

This was because the FDA, working with a team of experts from multiple medical and biological fields, deemed the drink a public health concern.

One of the major concerns by experts was the caffeine possibly masking certain cues usually relied upon to determine someone’s level of intoxication.

The FDA’s decision came after several states and college campuses banned the drink following life-threatning and deadly incidents that occurred with students who drank Four Loko.

Phusion’s three co-founders, Chris Hunter, Jeff Wright and Jaisen Freeman, said in a statement they still believe the combination is safe, as caffeinated alcoholic drinks have been consumed responsibly for years.

However, they did say they will change the formula of their drinks in accordance to the FDA’s wishes.

Sarah Van Orman, executive director of the University Health Services in Madison, said as a physician, she understands the dangers of combining alcoholic and energy drinks.

Van Orman said Four Loko is particularly dangerous compared to similar drinks due to the large serving size, the high alcohol concentration, the sweet flavor making it easy to drink quickly, and the aggressive marketing campaign targeting youth – even high school-age students.

Van Orman said while UW officials have been watching this debate, it was obvious a ban would be unrealistic at a school this size, especially since the drinks can be manually mixed, and trying to make students understand dangers of reckless drinking was a more realistic goal.

“If students understand the dangers, they can make safe decisions,” Van Orman said.