US energy drink maker Monster Beverage has released a statement upholding the safety of its products after a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigation into the firm intensified.
Shares in Monster dipped by 10% for the second day in a row on Tuesday after the FDA said on Monday that it had launched an investigation into the products following the death of 14-year old Anais Fournier, who died last December. Fournier, who had a heart condition, died after allegedly drinking two cans of the popular energy drink in a 24-hour period.
Fournier’s family have filed a lawsuit against Monster Beverage, triggering the FDA probe.
Goldman Sachs has removed Monster Beverage Corp from its conviction buy list but said it did not believe the ultimate legal outcome would be "significantly onerous."
“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,” said a Monster statement.
“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.”
The firm added that its drinks have around half the amount of caffeine contained in popular coffee drinks at around 10 milligrams per ounce and that its products meet labelling regulations in all 70 countries in which they are sold.
Monster shares were down 10.2% to $41.08 on Tuesday following a 14% slide on Monday.
