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.”

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    What this article doesn’t say is that it’s being replaced with an endless refill Four Loko original recipe fountain.

    • Nougat@fedia.io
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      1 year ago

      And when you say “fountain,” you don’t mean the dispenser for “fountain drinks,” you mean like a chocolate fountain.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Exactly. Right in the middle of the store, a fountain featuring renaissance-style fish spewing Four Loko from their marble mouths.

        • tal@lemmy.today
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          1 year 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.