The past 12 months have been a long and trying time for Phusion Projects, the maker of a caffeine-laden alcohol energy drink known as Four Loko and described by many of its critics as "blackout in a can."

The drink was centrally related last year with multiple incidents at college campuses on both coasts in which scores of students were hospitalized after drinking the potent brew, which has always had a particular appeal for young people.

Authorities have cited a number of adverse effects stemming from Four Loko gatherings, such as DUI-related incidents and assorted juvenile crime.

In response to a demand from the FDA last year that it change its recipe, Phusion Projects removed the caffeine from its product. Notwithstanding that move, though, the company still faced a barrage of adverse publicity and a complaint by the Federal Trade Commission that it engaged in false advertising.

Specifically, the FTC pointed to Four Loko's labeling, stating that consumers were being deceived by the claim that one of its 23.5-ounce cans contained the same amount of alcohol as two 12-ounce beers.

Not true, said the commission, which stated that Phusion Projects was understating the amount by at least half, and that consumption of one can at a single sitting was simply unsafe for most people.

The company has now settled the matter by agreeing to a new label that says this: "This can has as much alcohol as 4 regular beers."

Following a comment period and final approval, distribution of Four Loko with the new labeling and in a resealable format will begin next spring.

Related Resource: Fox News, "Four Loko Agrees to Change Labeling" Oct. 4, 2011