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submitted 1 year ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

Sarah Katz, 21, had a heart condition and died hours after she drank Panera’s Charged Lemonade, a large cup of which contains more caffeine than Red Bull and Monster energy drinks combined.

All Panera Bread restaurants are now displaying "enhanced" disclosures about the restaurant chain’s highly caffeinated lemonade, a spokesperson said Saturday, following a lawsuit that was filed by the family of a young woman who died after drinking the beverage.

Monday's lawsuit, which was first obtained by NBC News, alleges that Sarah Katz, an Ivy League student with a heart condition, died after she drank Panera’s Charged Lemonade last year.

A large Charged Lemonade contains 390 milligrams — nearly the 400-milligram daily maximum of caffeine that the Food and Drug Administration says healthy adults can safely consume.

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[-] blazera@kbin.social 121 points 1 year ago

Why on earth would they have that much caffeine for a lemonade at Panera?

[-] kautau@lemmy.world 57 points 1 year ago

This is from their website

The NEW Panera Charged Lemonades are the ultimate energy drink guaranteed to charge up your day. Powered by Clean caffeine from guarana and green coffee extract, these caffeinated lemonades feature refreshing mango, cranberry, or strawberry mint flavors. These drinks are cold, caffeinated, and so ready for summer. Plant-based and Clean with as much caffeine as our Dark Roast coffee.

So sounds like they are advertising it as a coffee or energy drink alternative

[-] Supervisor194@lemmy.world 50 points 1 year ago

That's fine and all but why so much? This stuff has 390mg caffeine, Red Bulls have 80mg. Such a weird thing for Panera of all places to do.

[-] kautau@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago

Looks like it has the same amount of caffeine as coffee. Guessing the large is 32 oz. That’s about on par with drinking 32oz of black coffee

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[-] CaptPretentious@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

Per fluid ounce it's actually not high. A 16 oz can of GFuel has 300mg.

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[-] ThePantser@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago
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[-] _number8_@lemmy.world 96 points 1 year ago

wait wait a lady fucking died and they're getting away with simply enhanced signs??

[-] Steve@startrek.website 50 points 1 year ago

Well the FDA says the caffeine content is safe for an adult.

[-] Natanael@slrpnk.net 30 points 1 year ago

For an average healthy adult. That's what the disclaimers are for, so that those who can't tolerate it will know about it.

And yes, insufficient warnings should have pretty harsh penalties precisely for this reason

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[-] Number1SummerJam@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

The FDA also says brominated vegetable oil is safe for human consumption

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[-] ryathal@sh.itjust.works 26 points 1 year ago

Putting up the sign now probably hurts them in a civil suit.

[-] DarthBueller@lemmy.world 48 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Model (USA) Rule of Evidence 407: Subsequent remedial measures are not admissible as evidence to prove negligence, culpable conduct, a defect in a product or its design, or a need for a warning or instruction.

But the court may admit this evidence for another purpose, such as impeachment or — if disputed — proving ownership, control, or the feasibility of precautionary measures

EDIT: I’m not looking up the contextualing comments that accompany the rule, but I will share what I remember from law school many years ago: this rule exists for public safety. You don’t want to penalize fixing a dangerous situation, regardless of the facts of any specific case.

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[-] Grumpy@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 year ago

But it does alleviate them from a second suit.

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[-] Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 79 points 1 year ago

Why not just call it lemonade coffee or lemonade energy drink? Lemonade is not suppose to have caffeine.

[-] someguy3@lemmy.world 37 points 1 year ago

"Charged" is definitely not enough.

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[-] variaatio@sopuli.xyz 13 points 1 year ago

Whatever it is called with that kind of caffeine content you warning label it with listing of exactly how much caffeine it has. Well maybe unless it is named literally "coffee" and is plain brewed coffee and at that brewed coffee with the normal levels of caffeine coffee contains.

Ones frappe, whippazino also better have needed labels in cases, since given all they mix how the heck one is to know what exactly is the contents. Oh this is extra special "angry frappe" with double squared shot expresso, so exactly how much caffeine is that dear seller per one glass? I just thought you put chili in it or something to make it "angry", but has literally multiple times more caffeine content.

This is why all the energy drinks atleast where I live have the ever present "contains high amount of caffeine x mg/100ml".

You sell something like that as counter served item with no packaging label to read, well now your menu list must contains at minimum highlights. Something like "our special drunk (HC)" and then somewhere on the menu there reads "HC means high in caffeine". Then obviously at the counter must be a full labeling booklet of "here is our every product from the plainest brewed coffee to our jumbo mega sandwich and special brew beverage with full nutritional information and ingredients"

Just like one can't sell say a pastry in cafe with nut creme filling with out having a big marker on all the menus "contains nuts, nut allergies bevare". Since similarly nut allergic consuming nuts can be life threatening, well for some people consuming caffeine isn't healthy and must be disclosed.

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[-] someguy3@lemmy.world 68 points 1 year ago

This is a product made by Panera Bread? Lol I would not expect the store brand lemonade to be jacked on caffeine.

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[-] cheeseandrice@lemm.ee 47 points 1 year ago

My kids went and filled their cups with this stuff before I noticed what it was and then had to be the bad guy, telling them to get the Minute Maid shite. Definitely lowered my opinion of Panera.

[-] Zoboomafoo@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago

Is the stuff just in the soda fountain?

[-] cheeseandrice@lemm.ee 47 points 1 year ago

Separate dispensers like they said, but if you're paying the meal and you tell the kids to go get their drinks and they want lemonade you have to watch out they don't get the heart attack shit. Once you know you know, but I couldn't believe that's a thing that exists.

[-] Ender2k@kbin.social 23 points 1 year ago

No. Seperate dispensers completely.

And clearly marked as Charged Lemonade with the calorie and caffeine content for both the 20oz and 30oz cups on the dispenser since they were introduced.

[-] tja@sh.itjust.works 29 points 1 year ago

Okay, but most people do not have reference points on how much caffeine is normal and how much is okay.

And I also did not know that charged means it has caffeine, but that might be, because english is not my mother tongue.

[-] synae@lemmy.sdf.org 19 points 1 year ago

And I also did not know that charged means it has caffeine, but that might be, because english is not my mother tongue.

Not due to your language skills at all; that's just their choice of branding words. It may as well say "yummy", "extreme", or "wowie zowie".

Source: I speak fluent American

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[-] dill@lemmy.one 39 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I'm shocked it took this long. The caffeine content in that shit is MIND BLOWING. When you buy a energy drink you know what you are signing up for. But a lemonade with 260 to 390mg of caffeine??? That's pushing the limit of a ~~healthy~~ safe daily dose for an average adult

[-] RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago

Why the fuck would lemonade of all things have caffeine anyway?

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[-] SheeEttin@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago

That's about the same as a large coffee, but nobody blinks an eye at that. https://www.cspinet.org/caffeine-chart

[-] Natanael@slrpnk.net 11 points 1 year ago

Because then people know what they're getting. That's why. She wouldn't have bought a large coffee like that

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[-] Colorcodedresistor@lemm.ee 28 points 1 year ago

What is going to come from this is Panera settles, and then sticks the charged lemonade behind the counter and enhances warning labels.

What may indirectly come from this is Solid Numbers on Caffeine overdose. and what is a safe amount and what is playing with fire.

It's a modern day created problem. energy drinks flood the market, other companies compete and boom, someone died. I've seen reports that she had some medical issues and caffeine was like her version of a bee sting or peanut allergy , but I've yet to corroborate that narrative.

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[-] TokenBoomer@lemmy.world 26 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Is this lawsuit gonna drive the price of sandwiches from $15 to $30? /s

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[-] UndecidedYellow@sh.itjust.works 25 points 1 year ago

I figured it had more caffeine than tea but less than coffee. Clearly very wrong. Glad I didn't drink this stuff while I was pregnant.

[-] Null@pawb.social 22 points 1 year ago

Now the sales for that drink is going to go up, due to human curiosity.

[-] mr_sifl@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

I definitely want some caffeinated lemonade

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 36 points 1 year ago

There's caffeinated lemonade and then there's '10 mg away from the maximum daily recommendation of caffeine' lemonade.

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[-] Etterra@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Who'd have thought a place that can't even make a bagel with cream cheese properly would be the one to turbo-charge the lemonade.

Seriously, once I decided to get one and they gave me an uncut bagel and little shitty single-serve cream cheese. Even I asked wtf and said I wanted it done they looked at me as if I were from friggin outer space.

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[-] ikidd@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago

400 mg a day?

Apparently I should be dead.

[-] Bonehead@kbin.social 19 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Most 8 ounce cups of coffee contain 80 to 100 milligrams of caffeine. A large coffee from Tim Hortons is 20 ounces which has roughly 250mg of caffeine. And I used to drink 2, sometimes 3 or 4, of those a day.

I'll likely be dead by next Tuesday. I sure could go for a coffee right now though.

Edit: For those that want to plan accordingly, a 20 ounce blonde roast from Starbucks has 475mg of caffeine. The dark roast had about 340mg.

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[-] RaineV1@kbin.social 14 points 1 year ago

So, that is a ton of caffeine, but if you have a heart condition you really should be more careful about that shit.

[-] odigo2020@lemmy.zip 26 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I get what you're saying, but, for me, it would never even cross my mind that lemonade would ever have caffeine in it to start, let alone an insane amount like Panera has.

[-] TheMauveAvenger@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

It's called Charged Lemonade; that wouldn't give you any pause?

[-] subignition@kbin.social 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I would expect it to have caffeine content comparable to soda or tea. This 30 oz drink has about as much caffeine as four 12 oz Red Bulls

edit: It's not even behind the counter?? At least drip coffee, which is one of the only beverages that can exceed the caffeine content at issue here, doesn't come sweet enough by default that it's tempting to have a refill.

Crawford said if Charged Lemonade is going to remain on the menu, it should be less accessible to customers. She said she thought that it should be behind the counter and that it shouldn’t be eligible for refills.
“By virtue of it being part of the Unlimited Sip Club, it’s suggesting to consumers that it’s safe to have more than one,” she said. “And that is a big problem because it’s not safe to have one, let alone more than one.”

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[-] Nudding@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

That provides no indication that there's drugs in the lemonade lol

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[-] squiblet@kbin.social 14 points 1 year ago

It’s very unfortunate what happened to this girl. I don’t understand though how having a serious heart condition, she didn’t read the sign that said “as much caffeine as coffee” or “guarana and green coffee”. I have a few food related conditions and I read or research absolutely everything I consume at a restaurant.

[-] bioemerl@kbin.social 12 points 1 year ago

I read or research absolutely everything I consume at a restaurant

Generally if this is your standard people will die

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this post was submitted on 29 Oct 2023
549 points (100.0% liked)

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