Posted by Elizabeth Fernandez.
This article discusses a lawsuit against Panera for their highly caffeinated beverages that took the life of a UPenn college student. In September 2022, Sarah Kratz passed away because of what seemed to be no reason. Later it was found Kratz had a large charged lemonade from Panera which, “contains more caffeine than standard cans of Red Bull and Monster energy drinks combined, as well as the equivalent of almost 30 teaspoonfuls of sugar,” as said by Elizabeth Chuck. It was found that a large lemonade contains about 390 milligrams of caffeine and the regulated maximum “safe” amount of caffeine to consume is 400 milligrams daily. In the Panera Café Kratz went to before she passed, there was no major warning stating how much caffeine was in the charged lemonade or any mention of guarana extract, which is another stimulant that has similar effects to caffeine.
The reason why this death is becoming a big lawsuit is because Sarah Kratz had a pre-existing heart condition where she knew she should avoid large amounts of caffeine. As said by Sarah’s friend from Penn, “I guarantee if Sarah had known how much caffeine this was, she never would have touched it with a 10-foot pole.”, showing how cautious Kratz was about her heart condition. Panera’s failure to disclose the ingredients and caffeine levels in its charged drinks is the main issue in this lawsuit. At the Panera Cafes, the charged lemonades are put close to the regular fountain machine with drinks that have low to no caffeine. The charged lemonades are also very close to some of Panera’s regular lemonades and teas that are low in caffeine and are advertised as being “natural” and “clean”.
In my opinion, the Kratz family has every right to go through with the lawsuit, and Panera is in the wrong. Since Panera knew how much caffeine was in the drinks they were serving, they obviously knew how dangerous consuming high levels of caffeine is. Panera should have created a warning on the drink dispenser saying how much caffeine is in each cup size and a list of ingredients. As Chuck mentioned, Panera should discourage refills of the charged drinks to prevent overconsumption of caffeine because that could lead to serious health issues.
Elizabeth is a marketing major at the Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, Class of 2026.
Work Cited
Chuck, Elizabeth. “Panera Now Displaying Warning about Its Caffeinated Lemonade in All Stores after Lawsuit over Customer’s Death.” CNBC, CNBC, 29 Oct. 2023, www.cnbc.com/2023/10/29/panera-now-displaying-warning-about-its-caffeinated-lemonade-in-all-stores-after-lawsuit-over-customers-death.html.