Posted by Logan Murray.
In September of 2022 a college student at the University of Pennsylvania, Sarah Katz, died after drinking one of Panera Bread’s Charged Lemonades. Katz had a heart condition for most of her life and was known for being very cautious and attentive when it came to what she consumed. Her parents state that Katz would not have known that the Panera Bread Charged Lemonades were an energy drink and likely thought it had a safe amount of caffeine.
Amanda Holpuch of the New York Times details the facts of the case. Holpuch writes, “The lawsuit said that the company “failed to properly warn” customers about the potential dangers of its Charged Lemonade and misleadingly marketed the drink as “clean,” even though the large size has more caffeine than a 12-ounce Red Bull and a 16-ounce Monster Energy Drink combined” (Holpuch). Both Red Bulls and Monster Energy Drinks are widely marketed and commonly thought of as energy drinks. It is alarming that a Charged Lemonade has as much caffeine as both drinks combined and is not marketed similarly. Holpuch addressed Katz condition stating, “Ms. Katz’s heart condition, Long QT Type 1 Syndrome, affects the electrical system that controls a person’s heartbeat, the complaint said. She was diagnosed with the condition when she was 5 years old, took daily medication and avoided energy drinks and other highly caffeinated beverages, the complaint said” (Holpuch). This is an important fact because it shows that Katz was attentive when it came to avoiding highly caffeinated drinks and would have avoided the Charged Lemonade as well if she was aware of its contents.
Holpuch also outlines the safety of the Charged Lemonade in the general sense. She writes, “About two months after Ms. Katz’s death, Charged Lemonade attracted widespread attention and media coverage after a video was posted on TikTok by a user who was shocked by the drink’s unexpected caffeine content […] Sarah Baus said in the video that she routinely drank the lemonade, but had only just learned about how much caffeine was in it” (Holpuch). I think this two-month timeline is also valuable to see how Panera Bread may not have changed it’s transparency practices following Katz death. Holpuch continues, “According to the [FDA], most “healthy adults” can safely consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day” (Holpuch). The large 30-ounce Charged Lemonade contains 390 milligrams of caffeine. Holpuch also notes, “[T]he legal complaint said, the drink was offered next to beverages that did not have caffeine, or had less caffeine. It was not advertised as an energy drink […] The caffeine content could also have been affected by how the drink was prepared, according to the complaint, because Panera workers mix it at the restaurant, which caused “a lack of quality control”’ (Holpuch). The Charged Lemonade’s placement next to non-caffeinated drinks is potentially misleading to consumers and the lack of quality control is alarming due to how close a large Charged Lemonade is to the FDA stated maximum safe amount of caffeine (10 milligram difference). I would not be surprised if Panera Bread settled this lawsuit rather quickly.
Logan is a Sports Management & Mathematical Finance Major, Legal Studies Minor, at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2024.