Panera Bread discontinues Charged Sips beverages

Panera Bread announced this Tuesday that it is recalling Charged Sips drinks. Customers reported several problems with the drinks which are high in caffeine. These drinks have been linked to at least two deaths in recent months.

Sarah Qatz was one of them. The 21-year-old died in September 2022 after drinking a lemon Charged Lemonade at the Panera located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

According to her parents, she had a heart disease known as long QT syndrome (LQTS), which is a disorder affecting the body's electrical system that controls heart rate and rhythm. This condition, diagnosed five years ago, required her to control her caffeine intake. However, she unknowingly consumed the drink at Panera with a caffeine content triple that of normal coffee. As a result, her family sued Panera Bread for negligence.

On October 9, 2023, NPR recalls, David Brown, a 46-year-old man, died after consuming three Charged Lemonades at one of the company's locations in Florida. After finishing the drink, the man went into cardiac arrest and died. The family blamed Panera Bread for negligence, alleging that "Brown had high blood pressure and didn't drink energy drinks, but believed Charged Sips were safe because they weren't advertised as energy drinks."

Panera Bread will swap Charged Sips for other "low-sugar and low-caffeine" options

Panera Bread did not confirm whether it decided to stop serving these energy drinks due to lack of demand or legal problems associated with the drinks. Instead, the company said it will introduce new drinks that are low in both sugar and caffeine, as reported by a Panera Bread spokesperson in statements to NBC News: