Panera Bread has added new warnings, both in-store and online, about its caffeinated ‘Charged Lemonade’ as it faces a lawsuit brought by the family of a college student who died after drinking the beverage.
The lawsuit, which was filed Monday, alleges that Sarah Katz, a 21-year-old Ivy League student with a heart condition, died last year after drinking a large cup of Charged Lemonade. One of the complaints raised in the suit is that Panera Bread does not do enough to warn customers about the high levels of caffeine in the drink.
A large cup of Charged Lemonade has approximately 390 milligrams of caffeine, according to a Panera Bread caffeine guide, last updated in June of this year. That means that a large cup of the beverages contains more caffeine than a can of Red Bull (77.4 mg) and a can of Monster Energy (160 mg) combined.
In an exclusive statement to NBC News on Saturday, Panera announced that all of its stores across North America will carry “enhanced” disclosure about Charged Lemonade.
“We were saddened to learn this week about the tragic passing of Sarah Katz. While our investigation is ongoing, out of an abundance of caution, we have enhanced our existing caffeine disclosure for these beverages at our bakery-cafes, on our website and on the Panera app,” a spokesperson wrote.
It’s unclear if the warnings have also been added to in-store locations in Canada. There are nine Panera Bread restaurants in Canada, all in Ontario. According to the Panera’s website, two flavours of Charged Lemonade are on sale in Canadian locations, with a third not yet available.
Global News has reached out to Panera Bread for confirmation.
The warnings on the website read: “Use in moderation. NOT RECOMMENDED FOR children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant or nursing women.” This text was added to an already-existing description which claims that Charged Lemonades contain “about as much caffeine as our Dark Roast coffee.”
However, according to Panera’s own caffeine guidelines, a 20-ounce dark roast coffee only has about 268 mg of caffeine compared to the large Charged Lemonade’s 390 mg, although a 20-ounce light roast coffee has about 384 mg of caffeine.
In-store, people have already noticed the enhanced warnings.
Elizabeth Crawford, a Philadelphia-based lawyer who helped file the lawsuit against Panera, told NBC that the additional text does not go far enough to warn customers.
“It’s misleading in the sense that it’s not indicating that it is an energy drink,” she said. “I’m happy that we are moving in a direction of making a change, but I consider these baby steps.”
In the lawsuit, Charged Lemonades are slammed as “unreasonably dangerous” energy drinks, “offered side-by-side with all of Panera’s non-caffeinated and/or less caffeinated drinks.”
The drink is allegedly mixed “in-house,” meaning the “caffeine content is not controlled and, in turn, has an innate and dangerous potential to vary.”
The Food and Drug Administration said it is “gathering information” about Katz’s death.
Katz, 21, was a junior at the University of Pennsylvania when she died on Sept. 10, 2022. An autopsy report found the cause of death to be cardiac arrhythmia due to long QT syndrome, a chronic heart condition that can cause fast, chaotic heartbeats, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Katz was diagnosed with the condition at age five, and avoided energy drinks throughout her life on doctor’s recommendations, according to the lawsuit filed against Panera.
Shortly before Katz died, she bought and drank Panera’s Charged Lemonade, the lawsuit says. Later that day, she went into cardiac arrest while at a restaurant with friends. She was rushed to Pennsylvania Presbyterian Hospital, where she had another cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead.
Katz’s parents believe her consumption of the Charged Lemonade is what led to her death. They allege that their daughter bought the drink “reasonably confident it was a traditional lemonade and/or electrolyte sports drink containing a reasonable amount of caffeine safe for her to drink.”
Katz’s roommate and close friend, Victoria Rose Conroy, said the 21-year-old was very careful about navigating her heart condition.
“She was very, very vigilant about what she needed to do to keep herself safe,” Conroy said. “I guarantee if Sarah had known how much caffeine this was, she never would have touched it with a 10-foot pole.”
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