FDA Investigating Popular Monster Energy Drinks

Children's Hospital doctor weighs in on if the drink is dangerous

CREATED Oct. 23, 2012

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  • Children's Hospital doctor weighs in on if the drink is dangerous Video by kmtv.com

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Omaha, NE -- The makers of the popular Monster Energy drinks are battling a lawsuit filed by grieving parents.   The parents of 14-year old Anais Fournier say the company doesn't go far enough to warn its consumers of just how much caffeine is in one can. Anais died 24-hours, after drinking two 24-ounce cans of Monster Energy back in December.  

The FDA is investigating the drink after 5 people have died.  FDA spokesperson, Shelley Burgess, says so far there is no evidence that suggests Monster Energy is the cause of death of those people. FDA says the investigation is "on-going".   KMTV Action 3 News is asking local doctors if the beverage can cause death. 

Monster Energy drinks are known by many teens for cool advertising and jolting effects.  14-year old Ralston High teens Cami Schott and Mari Beth Hall say the drinks are sugary and will give you lots of energy.  Mari Beth admits she drinks one from time to time.  Why? "I don't know,  sometimes at sleep overs I want to stay up late," says Mari Beth.

 Dr. Scott James is a emergency room doctor at Children's Hospital. He says too much caffeine from those Monster drinks may have caused the girl's underlying heart problem to go into distress - ultimately killing her.  Dr. James explains, "We do know with caffeine toxicity, there are some cardiac issues such as arrhythmia's, high blood pressure, etc that can be a side effect if you have excessive caffeine overdose."

He says there's a big punch in one can. "The particular form that they sell it in has 240 milligrams of caffeine in it which is substantially more than most sodas that are available on the market today," adds Dr. James.

Greg Preston won't allow his kids to drink energy drinks after he experienced the effects first hand.  "I was drinking them and I had a seizure. When they started doing tests, that was the only thing they could figure that caused the seizure because I was drinking too many of them," says the father.

Monster Beverage stands by the safety of its products.  They released the following statement: 

Corona, CA – October 23, 2012 – Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) (“Monster”) today issued the following statement in response to inquiries it has received and numerous recent media reports in connection with a lawsuit that has been filed against the company by the family of 14-year old Anais Fournier, who died last December.
Monster is saddened by the untimely passing of Anais Fournier, and its sympathies go out to her family. Monster does not believe that its products are in any way responsible for the death of Ms. Fournier and intends to vigorously defend the lawsuit. The company wishes to point out that:
- Tens of billions of energy drinks have been sold and safely consumed worldwide for approximately 25 years, including more than 8 billion cans of Monster Energy® that have been sold and safely consumed in the United States and around the world since 2002. The company monitors consumer communications it receives, is unaware of any fatality anywhere that has been caused by its products, and has never before been the subject of any lawsuit of this nature.
- Monster Energy® drinks generally contain approximately 10 milligrams of caffeine from all sources per ounce. By comparison, the leading brands of coffee house brewed coffee contain on average more than 20 milligrams of caffeine per ounce. An entire 24-ounce can of Monster Energy® contains about 240 milligrams of caffeine from all sources, which is around 30 percent less than the average caffeine contained in a medium-sized, 16-ounce cup of coffee house brewed coffee.
- Monster Energy® drinks, including their ingredients and labeling, are in full compliance with all laws and regulations in each of the more than 70 countries in which they are sold.

-The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has stated that adverse event reports about a product do not mean that the reported event is caused by the product. The FDA has made it clear that it has not established any causal link between Monster Energy® drinks and the reports it has received.

Neither the science nor the facts support the allegations that have been made. Monster reiterates that its products are and have always been safe.