Panera Bread restaurants have taken its “Charged Lemonade” out of customers' reach after the caffeinated drink was blamed for causing fatal heart attacks.
Employees at a Panera Bread franchise in Manhattan told the Post that the company was once closed after the family of a 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania student sued the chain last October after their daughter went into cardiac arrest. The refillable drink was reportedly moved behind the counter, and the man died after drinking the drink.
“After the first lawsuit, they put stickers on the bubblers where they kept the product. [lemonade] We warn that it contains caffeine and may be dangerous to certain people,” an anonymous employee told the Post.
“And it was moved behind the counter.”
A 30-ounce serving of Panera's Charged Lemonade has more caffeine than Red Bull and Monster energy drinks combined.
“When we first introduced chargers, some stores already had chargers behind the counter, but not all,” said an employee.
A Panera Bread employee told the Post that the store has now placed a sign at the counter next to other bubblers informing customers that their bill is behind the counter.
Reddit poster confirmed the employee's claims Drinks are no longer self-service. The poster took a photo showing a warning sign next to the drink reminding customers to be aware of the high caffeine content.
According to Panera's menu, a large charged lemonade contains 390 milligrams of caffeine, close to the FDA's daily maximum of 400 milligrams.
The Post has reached out to Panera Bread for comment.
Last week, Lauren Skerritt, a 28-year-old Rhode Island woman and amateur athlete, filed a lawsuit against Panera Bread Co. after drinking the beverage that sent her to the emergency room.
Skerritt claimed in her lawsuit that she suffered an arrhythmia the day after eating two and a half servings of Panera Bread's Charged Lemonade, which she purchased at the chain's store in Greenville, Rhode Island, on April 8 of last year.
Since then, Skerritt has been experiencing “recurrent symptoms of rapid heartbeats that occur suddenly and without pattern,” according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Delaware Superior Court.
Her lawyer, Elizabeth Crawford, is also representing the families of two people who died after allegedly drinking “charged lemonade.”
Panera said the two previous lawsuits were “equally without merit.”
In the fall, the family of Sarah Katz, a 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania student, sued Panera, claiming the lemonade drink caused her to suffer a heart attack and die hours after drinking the caffeine-rich product. .
Katz's family claimed in the complaint that Panera included the beverage as part of a “Sip Club” that encouraged customers to “drink unlimited amounts of Panera Charged Lemonade every day.”
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic passing of Sarah Katz this morning. Our hearts go out to her family,” a Panera spokesperson told the Post.
A spokesperson said the company “strongly believes.”[s] Increase transparency of raw materials. ”
“We are working quickly to thoroughly investigate this matter,” a company representative told the Post.
Last month, the family of Dennis Brown, a 46-year-old Florida resident, filed a lawsuit against Panera Bread, alleging that he died of cardiac arrest hours after drinking charged lemonade.
Panera issued a statement regarding the lawsuit filed by Brown's family, saying, “Panera expresses its deepest sympathies to Mr. Brown's family.”
“Based on our investigation, we believe that his unfortunate death was not caused by any of the company's products,” the company said.
