College Student Dies from Panera Bread’s Charged Lemonade
Sarah Katz, 21, a University of Pennsylvania student, died on September 10, 2022, after drinking Panera’s Charged Lemonade. According to the lawsuit filed by her family this week, the Charged Lemonade contains more caffeine than a standard can of Red Bull and Monster energy drinks combined. In addition to caffeine, the drink has guarana extract, another stimulant, and the large size contains the equivalent of almost 30 teaspoonfuls of sugar. Because of her heart condition called long QT syndrome type 1, Katz usually avoided energy drinks. However, she believed the drink was healthy since Panera advertised it as “naturally flavored, plant-based, and clean with about as much caffeine as our Dark Roast coffee.” Katz bought the drink at a Panera restaurant in Philadelphia and went into cardiac arrest hours later. “She was very, very vigilant about what she needed to do to keep herself safe,” said close friend Victoria Rose Conroy. “I guarantee if Sarah had known how much caffeine this was, she never would have touched it with a 10-foot pole.”
At Nease, many students have either heard of or purchased the Charged Lemonade drink themselves. “I sometimes get that at Panera,” said Alexis Schilling, a Nease senior. “I never knew it had that much caffeine.” The FDA is working to add a warning label to the Charged Lemonade moving forward.
By: Pavithra Sankar
Sources:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/10/30/panera-bread-charged-lemonade-warning/71382776007/
