Current:Home > ContactPanera to stop selling Charged Sips caffeinated drinks allegedly linked to 2 deaths -Elite Financial Minds
Panera to stop selling Charged Sips caffeinated drinks allegedly linked to 2 deaths
View
Date:2025-04-16 21:08:08
Restaurant chain Panera said on Tuesday that it plans to stop selling its Charged Sips caffeinated beverages that are at the center of multiple lawsuits.
The company will phase out the caffeine-laden lemonade drinks nationwide, a spokesperson confirmed to CBS MoneyWatch. As of Tuesday, they were still available for purchase on Panera's website.
The move comes as Panera revamps its menu to offer new "low-caffeine" drink options amid allegations that the caffeinated lemonade drinks caused two deaths. Another plaintiff alleges Panera's Charged Lemonade left her with long-term heart problems. Panera did not indicate why it's phasing out Charged Sips. The company did not comment on pending litigation.
"We listened to more than 30,000 guests about what they wanted from Panera, and are focusing next on the broad array of beverages we know our guests desire — ranging from exciting, on-trend flavors, to low-sugar and low-caffeine options," Panera said of its recent menu changes. The company's new beverage offerings include a "Blueberry Lavender Lemonade" among other options.
Sarah Katz, a 21-year-old college student with a heart condition, died in September 2022 after drinking a Charged Lemonade beverage. Her family filed a lawsuit against Panera alleging the lemonade drink, which contains higher caffeine levels than Red Bull and Monster Energy Drink combined, came with no warning.
A second lawsuit alleges that Dennis Brown of Fleming Island, Florida, died from cardiac arrest after downing three of the drinks and unknowingly consuming high levels of caffeine, according to the suit filed in Superior Court in Delaware.
On its website, the Charged Sips beverages contain between 155 and 302 milligrams of Caffeine. They come with a warning indicating they are not recommended for "children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant or nursing women."
It's safe for most healthy adults to consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine a day, according to The Mayo Clinic. That's the rough equivalent of about four cups of coffee or 10 cans of soda.
- In:
- Consumer News
- Panera Bread
- Charged Lemonade
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.
veryGood! (311)
Related
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- New surveys show signs of optimism among small business owners
- What is moon water? Here's how to make it and what to use it for
- University of Wisconsin president wants $855 million in new funding to stave off higher tuition
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Harvey Weinstein will remain locked up in New York while awaiting rape retrial
- Biden’s offer of a path to US citizenship for spouses leaves some out
- Arizona truck driver distracted by TikTok videos gets over 20 years for deadly crash
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Police arrest 75-year-old man suspected of raping, killing woman in 1973 cold case
Ranking
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- Michael Oher, Subject of The Blind Side, Speaks Out on Lawsuit Against Tuohy Family
- Donald Trump posts fake Taylor Swift endorsement, Swifties for Trump AI images
- A muscle car that time forgot? Revisiting the 1973 Pontiac GTO Colonnade
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Ernesto gains strength over open Atlantic. Unrelated downpours in Connecticut lead to rescues
- 50 years on, Harlem Week shows how a New York City neighborhood went from crisis to renaissance
- ABC News names longtime producer Karamehmedovic as network news division chief
Recommendation
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
Chappell Roan speaks out against 'creepy behavior' from fans: 'That's not normal'
Democrats seek to disqualify Kennedy and others from Georgia presidential ballots
Disney dropping bid to have allergy-death lawsuit tossed because plaintiff signed up for Disney+
US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
Charges dropped against man accused of fatally shooting a pregnant woman at a Missouri mall
A muscle car that time forgot? Revisiting the 1973 Pontiac GTO Colonnade
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Daughter Shiloh Officially Drops Last Name