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.”

  • MyOpinion@lemm.ee
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    4 months ago

    Why do they keep bringing out these drinks that are so over caffeinated? They never learn their lesson until people start dying.

    • catloaf@lemm.ee
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      4 months ago

      It wasn’t any more caffeinated than their coffee, but they make them because people buy them. Caffeine addiction is a real thing, and other stimulants are heavily regulated.

      • Grumpy@sh.itjust.works
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        4 months ago

        A large charged lemonade has 4 times the caffeine content than a cup of coffee according to wapo which I won’t bother linking because it’s paywalled. It’s about twice the size of coffee and twice the concentration of caffeine.

      • CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        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.

      • SeaJ@lemm.ee
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        4 months ago

        Do you mean Liquid Death? That is just water and it’s not caffeinated.

        • dragontamer@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          Water plus a bit of fragrance so you can smell something while drinking water.

          They’re pretty refreshing in my experience. I actually recommend Liquid Death.

      • hedgehogging_the_bed@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Liquid Death isn’t even caffeinated. They have a line of iced teas that have caffeine from the tea but their main flavors are all water or seltzer.

        • nocturne@sopuli.xyz
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          4 months ago

          And Liquid Death is the best bottled/canned water I have ever drank. Not a fan of their flavored or carbonated stuff. My son likes their teas though.