Panera to remove ‘Charged Sips’ drink from Canada amid wrongful death lawsuits
Global News
Panera Breads plans to stop selling the beverages in Canada, a spokesperson confirmed to Global News on Wednesday. However, the spokesperson did not specify the exact timeline.
Panera Bread is removing its caffeinated ‘Charged Sips’ drinks from its Canadian restaurants amid at least two wrongful death lawsuits stemming from consumption of the beverages.
The restaurant chain plans to stop selling the beverages in Canada, a spokesperson confirmed to Global News on Wednesday. However, the spokesperson did not specify the exact timeline or the reason for the change. As of Wednesday, the beverages — available in strawberry and mango lemonade flavours — are still available for purchase on the company’s website.
The beverages are also being pulled from the United States market, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
“We are excited to continue the success of our recent menu transformation, which began with our core options of sandwiches and salads,” a Panera spokesperson told Global News in an email Wednesday.
“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 flavours, to low sugar and low-caffeine options.”
Panera Bread is currently facing at least two lawsuits stemming from the Charged Sips drinks; one of them brought by the family of a college student who died after allegedly drinking the beverage.
The lawsuit, which was filed in October 2023, alleges that Sarah Katz, a 21-year-old student at the University of Pennsylvania with a heart condition, died in 2022 after drinking a large cup of Charged Lemonade. One of the complaints raised in the suit is that Panera Bread allegedly does not do enough to warn customers about the high levels of caffeine in the drink.
“We were very saddened to learn this morning about the tragic passing of Sarah Katz, and our hearts go out to her family,” Panera Bread wrote in a statement upon learning of the lawsuit. “At Panera, we strongly believe in transparency around our ingredients. We will work quickly to thoroughly investigate this matter.”
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