Following a lawsuit brought by the family of a young lady who passed away after drinking Panera's highly caffeinated lemonade, a representative said on Saturday that all Panera Bread locations now have "enhanced" notifications regarding the beverage.
The Monday complaint claims that Panera's Charged Lemonade last year caused the death of Sarah Katz, an Ivy League student with a heart problem.
A large Charged Lemonade has 390 milligrams of caffeine, which is almost the daily limit of 400 mg for healthy individuals recommended by the Food and Drug Administration.
(Photo: by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 09: A sign is posted on the exterior of a Panera Bread restaurant on November 09, 2021 in San Rafael, California. After going private in 2017 when JAB Holding bought the company for $7.5 billion, Panera Bread will go public once again through an initial public offering.
Charged Lemonade is described as a "dangerous energy drink" in the civil complaint, which contends that Panera failed to fully inform customers about its contents, which also include the stimulant guarana extract. The big cup has about 30 teaspoons of sugar and more caffeine than normal cans of Red Bull and Monster energy drinks put together.
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Adding More Thorough Disclaimers
According to Panera, the caffeine amount of its Charged Lemonade has always been disclosed in-store. However, Panera said that over the previous several days, all of its restaurants throughout North America have updated more thorough disclaimers regarding the beverage.
According to the revised text, children, caffeine-sensitive individuals, pregnant women, and nursing mothers should not eat Charged Lemonade since it contains caffeine and should be drunk in moderation.
Katz's family is being defended by Elizabeth Crawford, a lawyer at the Philadelphia legal firm Kline & Specter, PC, who stated on Saturday that the language on the drink's label does not indicate how much caffeine is in it or that it also includes another stimulant.
In September 2022, Katz passed away, and the FDA stated that it was "gathering information" about it. According to Victoria Rose Conroy, Katz's roommate and close friend, Katz had purchased a big Charged Lemonade just hours before she passed away and had consumed at least one Charged Lemonade in the days before.
According to the wrongful death complaint, Charged Lemonade was "offered side-by-side with all of Panera's non-caffeinated and/or less caffeinated drinks" at the time of Katz's death in the Philadelphia store close to Katz's University of Pennsylvania campus. It was billed as "plant-based and clean," having the same amount of caffeine as the restaurant's dark roast coffee, according to images of the menu and beverage dispensers in the store included in the civil complaint.
At age five, Katz received a diagnosis of long QT syndrome, an electrical cardiac ailment that can lead to irregular heart rhythm under stress or exercise. According to the lawsuit, Katz managed her illness with medication, routine medical appointments, and a caffeine restriction.
Her long QT syndrome-related cardiac arrhythmia was reported as the cause of death by the medical examiner. Despite Katz not having any other medicines in her system save those given during resuscitation attempts, the study did not cite the caffeinated lemonade as a contributing cause of her demise.
Related article: Death by Lemonade: Panera Bread's Energy Drink Allegedly Kills Student With Heart Condition
