Lawsuits have blamed the highly caffeinated drink for at least two deaths.

Lawsuits have blamed the highly caffeinated drink for at least two deaths.

A Panera Bread spokesperson says the restaurant chain is phasing out its Charged Lemonade, a highly caffeinated beverage that has been blamed for at least two deaths in lawsuits.

The beverages prompted controversy in October following a lawsuit filed by the family of 21-year-old Sarah Katz, a University of Pennsylvania student with a heart condition who died after consuming Charged Lemonade. A second lawsuit was filed in December by the family of Dennis Brown, a Florida man with a chromosomal deficiency disorder and a developmental delay who also died after drinking a Charged Lemonade.

A third lawsuit was filed in January by Lauren Skerritt, a 28-year-old Rhode Island woman, which claimed the beverage left her with “permanent cardiac injuries.”

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Panera previously advertised its Charged Lemonade as “Plant-based and Clean with as much caffeine as our Dark Roast coffee.” But the lawsuits said that at 390 milligrams, a large, 30-fluid-ounce Charged Lemonade has more caffeine in total than any size of Panera’s dark roast coffee, referring to the amount of caffeine that is in the drink with no ice. Panera has since updated its nutrition information to reflect how much caffeine is in the Charged Lemonade with ice, listing the large size of the blood orange Charged Lemonade, for example, as having 302 milligrams.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, healthy adults can generally safely consume 400 milligrams of caffeine a day.

  • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
    7·
    6 months ago

    I think that that might make the ethanol evaporate, as it’ll do so more-readily than water.

    It seems to me that that would have two effects:

    • That would presumably cause the ethanol content to drop over time. You’d either have the impact fall off, or need to replenish it. I’d suggest a small Cupid statue urinating pure ethanol into the Four Loko fountain.

    • If you can evaporate enough of it, maybe you can get enough ethanol vapor going on to get everyone in FlyingSquid’s Panera’s establishment drunk from breathing. I dunno if fountains would be enough, though. I’m thinking maybe add some of those ultrasonic misters, which would create a mysterious Four Loko fog at ankle level and add to the ambiance.