You may have heard of the energy drink Celsius before, maybe even purchased it. If you have bought any in the last 7 years you have a chance to be paid $250 by the company themselves. It all starts with the flavoring of the drinks, they come in fun flavors such as peach, orange, grape, etc. The company claims to have no preservatives in the beverage but it has been recently proven it contains citric acid. From this, the case of Hezi v Celsius was created.  Hezi has sued them for false advertising. The case is known as Hezi v. Celsius Holdings, Inc.,  currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The company they are suing, Celsius Holdings, Inc., is called the Defendant. The defendant Celsius contends it is added to its products only to add flavor and not as a preservative. The court did not rule in favor of any side. The parties instead agreed to settle. Celsius will pay $7,800,000. Although they have not admitted to anything the fact that they settled can indicate they are guilty.  Celsius claimed they settled “to avoid the expense and risks of the lawsuit.” 

The only issue with the false claims the company has made is the fact that the consumers of the product aim for a “healthy drink”. Celsius has been known to be natural, sugar-free, with no artificial flavoring, and more. Usually, the type of people buying this energy drink, drink it in the morning or before a workout. Possibly they add it to their diet so they are no longer always buying and drinking soda full of chemicals. Now that it’s more known Celsius contains citric acid people say they’ve been deceived. Even supposing the beverage includes citric acid, it’s not unhealthy, the ingredient actually can provide antioxidant status. After finding out this information the drink still has the same effect of giving you energy without 100 grams of sugar. It is understandable some civilians are upset because of factors like deathly allergies. 

Although there is a bonus to all this! If you are an American citizen you could possibly get money. To qualify you can go to the website (Celisus Class Action Settlement) and submit a claim with receipts and proof that you purchased the drinks between January 1st, 2015, and November 23rd, 2022. If you go through the process of getting approved to be a class member you will get $250, even with little to no proof you could get $20. Citric acid is in so many things and there aren’t many serious adverse effects. When drinking a highly caffeinated drink like celsius, citric acid should be the least of your worries. It’s not going to hurt most unless you are allergic.