The family of a talented young musician who died after adding just one teaspoon of caffeine powder to a protein shake is warning people against using the substance.
Lachlan Foote died the day before his 22nd birthday after blacking out and never regaining consciousness in New South Wales, Australia.
Initially, there were rumors that Lachlan died of a drug overdose, reports news.com.au.
But his family learned of the fatal caffeine powder last week, when they finally received the coroner’s report.
And they have called for the product to be banned in Australia, as they believe it’s “scandalous” the potentially lethal powder can still be bought online by fitness buffs.
The coroner’s report concluded that Lachlan died of caffeine toxicity after the 21-year-old unknowingly ingested a dangerous amount of the powder in a protein shake on New Year’s Day last year.
Just one teaspoon of the caffeine powder of the type he had was the equivalent of up to 50 cups of coffee.
His dad, Nigel, said: “It turns out that Lachlan came home after celebrating NYE with his friends and made a protein shake, innocently adding too much pure caffeine powder – a teaspoon is lethal.”
Caffeine is a stimulant used in some whey protein powers to help boost people’s athletic performance.
Nigel said the family wanted to warn others against using the product, in a bid to save lives.
Caffeine powder is popular in fitness circles, commonly marketed as a diet supplement and used as an addition to protein shakes and health drinks.
It’s unclear where Lachlan got it from. A search of his computer and bank statements by both his family and police came up blank.
“We think Lachlan obtained the caffeine powder from a friend or work associate,” Nigel explained.
“Therefore, it appears the pure caffeine powder was bought by someone else and shared, so it’s very likely that Lachlan never got to read the warning label on the packet and was unaware of its potency.
“And the fact that he kept the caffeine powder in our kitchen pantry, where one of us might have mistaken it for flour or sugar, proves the point — Lachlan would never have kept it there had he known it was a threat to the family.”
Tragically, Lachlan sent a final Facebook group message to his friends on the night he died, complaining that his protein shake tasted bitter.
“I think my protein powder has gone off. Anyway… night lads. Cya in the morning,” hey wrote at 2:07 AM.
Nigel said that they found him “dead and cold on the bathroom floor (on) New Year’s Day, 2018… the day before his 22nd birthday.”
He said it had been “excruciating” waiting for the coroner’s report.
Caffeine powder ban urged
A pathologist told the coroner that there was no illicit substance and that Lachlan had only had a few beers.
The Food and Drug Administration in the United States prohibited the sale of large quantities of pure caffeine powder in 2018, four years on from the death of an Ohio teenager in similar circumstances to Lachlan.
Logan Stiner was a champion wrestler, gifted student and popular local in his town of LaGrange when he died just days before he was to graduate from high school.
He bought the powder online from Amazon and, like many, used it in protein shakes.
“As long as I live I will hunt that stuff down,” his mother Kate told local media after his death.
A search of eBay shows pure caffeine powder is widely available in Australia.
“It’s just insane that something so dangerous is so readily available,” Nigel said.
“Please warn your friends, talk to your children and perhaps check your kitchen cupboards. Pure caffeine powder looks just like any other white powder, but a heaped teaspoon of it will kill you.”