Influencer-Backed PRIME Brand Hit with Lawsuits Alleging Contamination of "Forever Chemicals," and Caffeine Inaccuracy
Logan Paul (left) and KSI are shown.
Cover photo credit: DrinkPrime.com/PRIME Hydration LLC.
(VultusNews) – PRIME, a seemly popular brand of beverages for minors, that was co-founded by two popular social media influencers, Logan Paul and KSI, is facing two class-action lawsuits.
The first lawsuit alleges the drinks are contaminated with forever chemicals. PRIME was on track to hit over $1B in sales in 2023.
The second lawsuit alleges PRIME Energy drinks misstate the caffeine content. If a jury or judge finds that this discrepancy violates federal and/or state law it could put other food companies in legal liability.
The lawsuit over forever chemicals gained widespread attention after Mr. Paul responded to a TikTok video discussing the allegations.
Lawsuit #1 (PFAS):
What you need to know about PFAS:
PFAS stands for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances
There are many chemicals under the umbrella of PFAS (e.g., PFOs)
PFAS were widely used in consumer products starting in the 1940s but started being phased out in the early 2000s after they were found in environmental samples and blood samples
PFAS were used because of their lack of reactivity with various chemicals and their ability to withstand heat, stains, and friction
PFAS are called “forever chemicals” because they take a relatively long time to be removed from the human body and brake down in the environment
PFAS are linked to, but not conclusively proven to have, detrimental health effects, like cancer
PFAS are widely found to be in the environment, including drinking water sources
Some plastics can release PFAS into the contents of the container, like HDPE when manufactured a certain way
Here is what the lawsuit claims:
The class-action lawsuit was filed in federal court in August of 2023 over false advertising since the PRIME line of drinks advertise as “healthy,” and not listing PFAS on the label
That samples tested by the plaintiff’s lawyer found 0.06 ppt of PFOs (one type of PFAS)
There is no information on the lab, exact PRIME drink(s) tested, or testing methodology in the complaint
Ppt is part-per-trillion, which is equivalent to pouring one gallon of something into a trillion gallon pool
ppt is equivalent to nanogram per liter or ng/L, which some reports use instead of ppt
That the Plaintiff would not have bought PRIME if they knew there were PFOs
That the Plaintiff has “suffered and continues to suffer, economic injuries”
The “injuries” were not specified in the complaint
The complaint does not state a specific amount but does say it will be over $5 million
The lawsuit gain widespread attention after a TikTok user who goes by the username of “tommythelawyer” posted four videos discussing the lawsuit, none of which appear on his page.
In Mr. Paul’s response video, he states the following (the following is not a complete transcript of the video):
“First off, anyone can sue anyone at any time, that does not make the lawsuit true and in this case it is not.”
Fact check: the first two claim is true; VultusNews cannot verify the last claim
“There’s claims that PFOS…come from plastic. So, in this case they’re not talking about the actual drink…they’re talking about the bottle PRIME is manufactured in. This aint a rinky dink operation. We use the top bottle manufacturers in the United States. All of your favorite beverage brands, Coke Pepsi, Tropicana, Dr. Pepper; they use these companies. If the product is served in plastic, they make a bottle for them. Accordingly, we follow Title 21 for the Code of Regulations for PET and all other types of bottles.”
Fact check: while Mr. Paul did not list any of the manufactures of the bottles/cans PRIME uses, VultusNews was able to find two of them based on the codes and markings on a bottle of PRIME hydration and PRIME energy. Western Group Packaging makes plastic bottles, and Ardagh Metal Packaging makes the cans for PRIME energy; VultusNews was not able to confirm if these are the only companies that manufacture containers for PRIME.
Mr. Paul then reads part of a letter he claims one of his bottle manufacturer sent to the FDA:
Text of the letter shown: “The products are manfured by our company in a manner compliant with all pertinent Current Good Manufacturing Practices by the United States Food and Drug Administration requirements listed in 21 CFR 117 Subpart B. Good Manufacturing Practices include, but are not limited to, the use of suitable facilities.”
“All of our suppliers use GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) facilities. Lets say they’re talking about the drink itself, here’s where their argument really falls apart, pay attention.”
Mr. Paul shows a table from this EPA guide on testing for PFAS in drinking water that says any reasonably accurate test cannot detect any quantity lower than 1.1 ppt, while the lawsuit claims the sample tested showed 0.06 ppt.
Mr. Paul goes on to state PRIME’s manufacturer uses “a very big multi-million dollar filter that filters the water from the state. Water you drink at home, water provided by the state before we make it into PRIME. If this claim about PFOs and PFAs is true, what is that saying about your state water.”
Mr. Paul then shows an EPA webpage that shows technologies that can be used to remove PFAS: Activated Carbon Treatment, Ion Exchange Treatment, and Reverse Osmosis. “Well we do two out of the three of those to clean the state’s water before it even become PRIME.”
“For customer safety we retain samples of every single batch of PRIME that has ever come off the product line. So if/when this plaintiff that wants to come forward with a production number, we will retain samples from that batch and conduct our own independent study.”
“One person has conducted a random study and provided zero evidence to substantiate any of their claims.”
“So Tommy the TikTok lawyer, four videos in, man farm those views, get those likes, and get a haircut while you’re at it. We’ll accept an apology within the next 48 hours otherwise, you’re gonna be representing yourself in a miserable courtroom for lying about our brand.”
The four videos Mr. Paul was referring to no longer appear on Tommy’s TikTok page. VultusNews was not able to review those four videos before they were removed.
The parts of Mr. Paul’s response video that showed one of Tommy’s videos only appeared to show Tommy discussing the lawsuit and not making his own claims
The lawsuit is ongoing.
Lawsuit #2 (Caffeine):
This class action lawsuit was filed in in the Southern District of New York on April 8 2024. It alleges that testing by the Plaintiff’s lawyers found PRIME energy drinks to have 15-25mg of caffeine over the stated 200mg on the label of the energy drinks. The complaint did not provide testing information.
This is not the first time PRIME Energy has made headlines over its caffeine content. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called for an FDA investigation into the caffeine content of PRIME energy drinks in July of 2023 over safety concerns for minors. Some schools outside of the U.S. have banned PRIME from school grounds.
The label on PRIME Energy does state “[d]rink responsibly, not recommended for children under 18 years of age, people sensitive to caffeine, pregnant women or women who are nursing.”
The plaintiff asserts that the discrepancy from the stated caffeine content is false/deceptive/misleading, thereby violating federal and state law. The complaint does not state a specific amount but does say it will be over $5 million.
If a jury or judge finds that this discrepancy violates federal and/or state law it could put other food companies in legal liability since nutritional labels are not required to be exact and studies have found variation for food and beverages in nutrient content compared to what is stated on the label.
Don’t companies know exactly how many calories/nutrients/substances are in their food?
Not necessarily.
The FDA allows calorie totals to be up to 20% different than the stated amount. Companies do not have to determine the caloric or nutrient content directly from their own food. Companies can use the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standard reference materials (SRM) or use NIST’s food matrix for foods that do not have an SRM. NIST states their SRMs are accurate within 2%-5%.
There is no legal limit to the amount of caffeine that a product can have, or a legal requirement that companies must disclose the amount of caffeine in a product; companies only have to disclose that caffeine was added by including it in the ingredient list.
The amount of nutrients in any given food, like fruits or vegetables, depends on the soil quality and other factors that vary naturally. Example: caffeine in coffee varies by the cup for reasons outside the control of producers.
The manufacturing process may not be perfect in making sure the exact same amount of nutrients is mixed/placed in a given product. Companies, especially supplement companies, may put more nutrients than what is labeled to account for unavoidable losses due production, storage, and transportation conditions. Federal regulations do allow for variations from stated quantity but does not set explicit limits for said variations.
How does PRIME Energy drinks compare to other energy drinks?
PRIME Energy drinks state they have 200mg of caffeine per 12oz can. PRIME Energy drinks are not the only energy drinks that have 200mg or more caffeine per can/serving. Examples include: 5-hour energy, Celsius, Starbucks Tripleshot, and Bang.
Most soda has ~30-45mg of caffeine per serving. Most coffee has ~100mg.
What are the risks of high caffeine consumption?
The FDA says that 400mg of caffeine per day is generally safe for adults (although, individuals may have a lower or higher tolerance based on how sensitive they are or how fast they metabolize it).
The most common negative effects of caffeine are insomnia, jitters, anxiety, fast heart rate, GI upset, and change in mood.
Very high doses of caffeine can be fatal.
There is no safe limit set for those under 18. The general consensus is to keep caffeine consumption under 100mg per day for those 12-17, and 0mg for those younger than 12.