Family files lawsuit against Panera Bread after college student who drank ‘charged lemonade’ dies

Salamendacious@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 659 points –
Family files lawsuit against Panera Bread after college student who drank ‘charged lemonade’ dies
nbcnews.com

Sarah Katz, 21, had a heart condition and was not aware of the drink’s caffeine content, which exceeded that of cans of Red Bull and Monster energy drinks combined, according to a legal filing

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What very clear, explicit label?

The Charged Lemonade was “offered side-by-side with all of Panera’s non-caffeinated and/or less caffeinated drinks” and was advertised as a “plant-based and clean” beverage that contained as much caffeine as the restaurant’s dark roast coffee, according to photos of both the menu and beverage dispensers in the store, which were included in the wrongful death lawsuit.

"Plant based and clean with as much caffeine as our dark roast coffee." is the full quote. Then, it lists the specific amount of caffeine for the two sizes.

You can argue it should have a more eye-catching and cautionary presentation, but it's disingenuous to say it wasn't clear and explicit.

Forget the article; go to an actual Panera. The amount of caffeine is clearly labeled right under the name of the drink. To be fair, their drinks contain way too much, but you can't say that they don't already make the label clear and easy to interpret. People are idiots who don't read the label beyond the "lemonade" part.

I don't think it's "way too much". A large of those every morning is still under the "healthy" FDA recommendations, wherein there are zero known negative side-effects for most people.

contained as much caffeine as the restaurant’s dark roast coffee

That part. Though I don't think people realize how much caffeine is in their dark roast coffee. Because it is more caffeine than multiple energy drinks for the same volume. There's a reason a standard cup of coffee is like 6 oz instead of 20 oz.

It also includes the caffeine "dosage" in grams for those who want/need to know. That inclusion is more prominent than the description he's quoting.

Flip-side, you can't get a 6oz coffee in most of the US. The most popular coffee around me is generally sold between 20oz and 30oz sizes.

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Who's serving up coffee in 6oz cups? Starbucks and most other coffee places have standard sizes of 12, 16, and 20oz.

Standard isn't what people drink. It's what the nutrition label on the package and medical guidelines are generally talking about, though. When the FDA says 4-5 cups of coffee is safe for most adults, they don't mean 48-100oz of coffee.

But as to who makes 6 oz cups? When you make coffee yourself, the cups on the coffee maker are 6 oz.

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