Paneraâs âcharged lemonadeâ cause of college studentâs death, lawsuit states
A 21-year-old Ivy League student with a heart condition died after drinking Panera Bread’s “charged lemonade,” according to a lawsuit filed Monday.
A large cup of “charged lemonade” contains more caffeine than a can of Red Bull and Monster energy drink combined.
The suit, per an NBC report, was filed on behalf of the parents of Sarah Katz, a 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania student. Katz had a heart condition known as long QT syndrome type 1 diagnosed since the age of 5, per a WSB-TV report. She avoided energy drinks at the recommendation of her doctors, according to the filing.
Lawyers for the family said Katz died in September of 2022 after suffering from two cardiac arrests after she came home from the restaurant.
Panera issued a statement about the lawsuit Monday, saying:
“We were very saddened to learn this morning about the tragic passing of Sarah Katz, and our hearts go out to her family. At Panera we strongly believe in transparency around our ingredients. We will work quickly to thoroughly investigate this matter. “
The complaint, which was filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, calls the beverage a “dangerous energy drink” and argues that Panera failed to appropriately warn consumers about its ingredients.
“She was very, very vigilant about what she needed to do to keep herself safe,” roommate and close friend, Victoria Rose Conroy said, per TODAY. “I guarantee if Sarah had known how much caffeine this was, she never would have touched it with a 10-foot pole.”
The charged lemonade was “offered side-by-side with all of Panera’s non-caffeinated and/or less caffeinated drinks” and was advertised as a “plant-based and clean” beverage that contained as much caffeine as the restaurant’s dark roast coffee, according to photos of both the menu and beverage dispensers in the store.
But at 390 milligrams, the large charged lemonade has more caffeine than any size of Panera’s dark roast coffee, the complaint says — numbers that the nutrition facts on Panera’s website confirm. The charged lemonade also has guarana extract, another stimulant, as well as the equivalent of nearly 30 teaspoons of sugar, the complaint continues.
According to the lawsuit, charged lemonade has anywhere from 260 to 390 milligrams of caffeine, exceeding the combined caffeine content of Red Bull (114 milligrams) and Monster Energy Drink (160 milligrams).