The parents of a 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania student who died of cardiac arrest last September have filed a lawsuit against Panera, claiming the chain’s Charged Lemonade contributed to her death.
Sarah Katz had a congenital heart disease, long QT type 1 syndrome, and therefore avoided caffeine and energy drinks. According to legal filings, she consumed Panera’s Charged Lemonade – which can contain as much caffeine as cans of Red Bull and Monster Energy Drinks combined – in the hours before she suffered a cardiac arrest at a friend’s birthday party. She was taken to Pennsylvania Presbyterian Hospital, where she suffered a second cardiac arrest shortly before her death.
“[Katz] “I have consumed the Panera Charged Lemonade and am reasonably confident that it is a traditional lemonade and/or electrolyte sports drink with an appropriate amount of caffeine that is safe for consumption,” the lawsuit states.
According to Panera’s website, the loaded sodas are “powered by pure caffeine from guarana and green coffee extract.” Panera says a 20-ounce serving contains about 260 milligrams of caffeine, which, according to its website, is “as much caffeine as our Dark Roast coffee.”
A 30-ounce serving can contain up to 390 milligrams of caffeine, which is more than the 114 milligrams in a 12-ounce can of Red Bull and the 160 milligrams in a 16-ounce can of Monster Energy Drink combined. The Katz family’s attorney told NBC News that Sarah Katz drank a 30-ounce cup of Charged Lemonade in the hours before her death.
“Defendants did not market, advertise, and sell Panera Charged Lemonade in-store as an ‘energy drink,’ which is a beverage containing large amounts of caffeine, added sugars, other additives, and stimulants such as guarana,” it says it in the lawsuit. It also claims that Panera customers “are not provided any factual basis for understanding [that Charged Lemonade is] an energy drink that contains exorbitant amounts of caffeine, caffeine sources, stimulants and sugar.”
Katz’s roommate, Victoria Conway, told WSB-TV that Katz would not have consumed the drink if she had known its caffeine content. “She had drunk the lemonade, at least I know that with 100% accuracy, the day she died,” she told the news station. “She was very careful to avoid caffeine. She never drank coffee. She never drank Red Bull. “Panera didn’t advertise this properly if someone as smart and alert as Sarah couldn’t really understand what was in that drink.”
In a statement sent to NBC News, Panera said it was “very sad” to learn of Katz’s death. “[O]“Their hearts go out to their family,” a Panera spokesperson said. “At Panera, we value transparency around our ingredients. We will work quickly to thoroughly investigate this matter.”
Last December, TikTok creator Sarah Baus went viral after posting a video in which she said she was shocked to learn Charged Lemonade’s caffeine content. Baus said she drank “four or five” of the drinks while working at her local Panera Cafe. “Panera Bread, this drink should come with a warning because it is delicious and will cause my cardiac arrest,” she wrote in the video’s caption.
Baus’ video was also posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, where it was liked over 127,000 times. “Someone from Panera [is going to] “We’ll end up getting sued,” the Twitter user said who shared it wrote.