Monster energy drink, which is sold in most major retailers in Cape Town, has been linked to deaths in the US.
|||New York/Washington - The US Food and Drug Administration said it was investigating reports of five deaths that may be associated with Monster Beverage Corp’s namesake energy drink. The company’s shares fell more than 14 percent.
Monster is also being sued by the family of a 14-year-old girl, from Maryland in the US, with a heart condition who died after drinking two cans of its Monster energy drink in a 24-hour period.
Monster said it did not believe its drinks were in any way responsible for the girl’s death.
"Monster is unaware of any fatality anywhere that has been caused by its drinks," the company said in a statement, adding that it intended to vigorously defend itself against the lawsuit.
The heavily caffeinated drink is sold in most major retailers in Cape Town for less than R20, and it comes with a disclaimer on the can that reads: “Not recommended for people under the ages of 12 years old, pregnant women and people sensitive to caffeine, and it should not be used as a mixture with alcohol beverages.”
The family of Anais Fournier sued Monster on Friday for failing to warn about the product’s dangers.
The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court in Riverside, said that after drinking two 340ml cans of Monster on consecutive days, Anais went into cardiac arrest. She was placed in an induced coma and died six days later on December 23, 2011.
The lawsuit said Anais died from “cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity” that complicated an existing heart valve condition related to a disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
The two drinks together contained 480 milligrams of caffeine, the equivalent of 14 cans of Coca-Cola (340ml), according to the lawsuit.
– Reuters