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Panera to stop selling Charged Sips caffeinated drinks allegedly linked to 2 deaths
Restaurant chain Panera on Tuesday said it plans to stop selling its Charged Sips caffeinated beverages that are at the center of multiple lawsuits.
The company will phase out the caffeine-laden lemonade drinks nationwide, a spokesperson confirmed to CBS MoneyWatch. As of Tuesday, they were still available for purchase on Panera’s website.
The move comes as Panera revamps its menu to offer new “low-caffeine” drink options amid allegations that the caffeinated lemonade drinks caused two deaths. Another plaintiff alleges Panera’s Charged Lemonade left her with long-term heart problems. Panera did not indicate why it’s phasing out Charged Sips. The company did not comment on pending litigation.
“We listened to more than 30,000 guests about what they wanted from Panera, and are focusing next on the broad array of beverages we know our guests desire — ranging from exciting, on-trend flavors, to low-sugar and low-caffeine options,” Panera said of its recent menu changes. The company’s new beverage offerings include a “Blueberry Lavender Lemonade” among other options.
Sarah Katz, a 21-year-old college student with a heart condition, died in September 2022 after drinking a Charged Lemonade beverage. Her family filed a lawsuit against Panera alleging the lemonade drink, which contains higher caffeine levels than Red Bull and Monster Energy Drink combined, came with no warning.
A second lawsuit alleges that Dennis Brown of Fleming Island, Florida, died form cardiac arrest after downing three of the drinks and unknowingly consuming high levels of caffeine, according to the suit filed in Superior Court in Delaware.
On its website, the Charged Sips beverages are described as containing between 155 and 302 milligrams of Caffeine. They come with a warning indicating they are not recommended for “children, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant or nursing women.”
It’s safe for most healthy adults to consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine a day, according to The Mayo Clinic. That’s the rough equivalent of about four cups of coffee or 10 cans of soda.
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A teacher and student killed in a shooting earlier this week at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, were identified Wednesday by authorities.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release provided to CBS News that 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara were fatally shot Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School.
Preliminary examinations determined the two died of “homicidal firearm related trauma.” Both were pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner said.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.
The medical examiner also confirmed that a preliminary autopsy found that the suspected shooter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow — a student at the same school — was pronounced dead at a local hospital Monday of “firearm related trauma.” Madison Chief of Police Shon F. Barnes had previously told reporters that Rupnow was pronounced dead while being transported to a hospital.
Police had also previously stated that she was believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting at the private Christian K-12 school was reported just before 11 a.m. Monday. In addition to the two people killed and the shooter, six others were wounded.
Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
A handgun was recovered after the shooting, Barnes said, but it was unclear where the gun came from or how many shots were fired. A law enforcement source said the weapon used in the shooting appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
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