Panera Bread introduced a line of charged drinks that sparked debate due to their caffeine content.
Blood Orange Charged Splash, Strawberry Lemon Mint Charged Lemonade, and Mango Yuzu Citrus Charged Lemonade are the three flavors available.
When you click on one of the three flavors available online, you’ll be taken to a page with an image of the lemonade overlaid with a large “contains caffeine” label at the bottom. According to the “about” section, the drinks are “naturally flavored, plant-based, with about as much CAFFEINE as our Dark Roast Coffee.”
Two lawsuits have been filed against Panera, alleging that its drinks were labeled incorrectly and that two customers who drank them died of cardiac arrest.
According to the lawsuits, which were filed by the Philadelphia-based law firm Kline & Specter, PC, a large Charged Lemonade contains 390 mg of caffeine, which is far more than what can be found in drinks like Monster or Red Bull. Caffeine content in a regular size is 260 mg.