On September 10, 2022, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a University of Pennsylvania student, Sarah Katz, suffer a fatal cardiac arrhythmia due to her existing condition, long QT syndrome, after unsuspectingly selecting a high-caffeine beverage.
Katz, 21, had a documented heart condition, known as long QT syndrome type 1. This ailment can provoke erratic heart rhythms if someone ingests considerable amounts of caffeine. Taking her doctor’s recommendations seriously, Katz had always avoided products with high caffeine levels.
On the mentioned date, she picked the Charged Lemonade from Panera Bread, assuming it was a standard lemonade or an electrolyte-rich sports drink with acceptable caffeine levels.
To her misfortune, the drink housed a staggering 390 milligrams of caffeine, over double what is present in popular energy drinks like Red Bull or Monster.
The way Panera promoted the drink described it as “plant-based and clean,” comparing it to their dark roast coffee offering. Additionally, the Charged Lemonade incorporated guarana extract, contributing more caffeine, along with a liberal dose of sugar.
NBC News was the first to report on the subsequent lawsuit. This legal action claims Panera Bread’s negligence in not providing an adequate warning to customers about the elevated caffeine content in the Charged Lemonade. The suit argues that from the drink’s conceptualization to its labeling, there was a noticeable lack of effort to spotlight the cardiac dangers associated with its high caffeine level.
Large caffeine doses are known to exert negative effects on one’s heart. The FDA has established that for most healthy adults, their daily caffeine intake should not exceed 400 milligrams, equivalent to the content in four to five coffee cups. Yet, the body’s reaction to caffeine can be influenced by various factors, including body weight, concurrent medication, and inherent sensitivities.
With long QT being a genetic heart condition, those afflicted can experience symptoms from mere fainting to unexpected death. Focused research on LQT1, the variant of long QT that Katz had, underlines the significant risks of caffeine for such individuals. Notably, a documented case spoke of a 13-year-old LQT1 patient who suffered a pronounced QT prolongation after drinking an energy drink containing 160 milligrams of caffeine.
The public’s reaction post this incident has been substantial. There’s a mounting call for transparent caffeine content labels on beverages sold to the public. Though Panera did offer a comparison of the Charged Lemonade’s caffeine content to their dark roast coffee, they stopped short of specifying an exact figure. After the event, the company has voiced its condolences and committed to an exhaustive examination.