For lots of people around the country, an energy drink in the morning can help get them through the day. But when people have heart problems, they need to steer clear. And problems happen when things aren't clearly labeled.
As reported by the New York Post, the parents of Sarah Katz are campaigning for energy drink reform. This comes after their daughter died from drinking an otherwise innocuous drink in 2022. Katz was someone who typically steered clear of energy drinks, as her heart condition meant drinking them meant real problems.
But the Panera Bread 30 oz. Charged Lemonade wasn't properly labeled. Katz thought she was just drinking a normal lemonade. It caused the cardiac arrhythmia that killed her. The lemonade contained a shocking 390 mg of caffeine, just under the recommended daily intake of 400 mg.
Her parents filed the first of many suits made against Panera for their misadvertising. The lawsuit claimed that the Charged Lemonade was being advertised in the same area as "noncaffeinated and/or less caffeinated drinks". And that this led to her choosing the lemonade without realizing the dangerous caffeine content.
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Katz' Parents Are Looking to Congress To Change Caffeine and Energy Drink Laws
As of January 2024, Katz' parents have partnered with their congressional representative to draft the bipartisan "Sarah Katz Caffeine Safety Act". This act would require clear caffeine labels on energy drinks. It would also require menu items with more than 150 mg of caffeine to be flagged by restaurants.
This is because caffeine regulations aren't well defined. According to Dr. Victoria Vetter, a cardiologist at the same hospital where Katz was working as a research assistant before her tragic death, the US has one of the least regulated energy drink markets in the world. She came to this conclusion in a report titled "Cardiovascular Toxicity of Energy Drinks in Youth: A Call for Regulation".
It turns out that the FDA thinks of caffeine differently depending on the form it's taken in. If it's over-the-counter drugs, they're really strict about things. But energy drinks can be classed as "dietary supplements", which are subject to much looser regulation.
We hope that their campaign is successful. Rest in peace to their daughter. What a tragic incident.
