Logan Paul and KSI's Prime Hydration facing lawsuit over harmful 'forever chemicals' in drink

Prime Hydration allegedly has 'forever chemicals' in its drinks which has led to a $5m lawsuit against it, with a court document saying the products are 'adulterated, misbranded and illegal to sell'.

During a motion hearing on April 18, official documents regarding the lawsuit were made publicly available and detailed the claims against Prime Hydration.

The energy drinks company was created by YouTubers KSI and Logan Paul and features a range of sports drinks, drink mixes and energy drinks.

But a lawsuit has been filed against it for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs) allegedly being found in testing of the Prime Hydration Grape Sports Drink specifically.

These are synthetic, man-made chemicals known to be harmful to both humans and the environment and are also known as 'forever chemicals'.

PFAs can be found in food and drink packaging, dust and even drinking water.

Research indicates exposure to these can cause decreased fertility or increased high blood pressure in pregnant women, developmental effects or delays in children, increased risk of some cancers and reduced ability of the body to fight infections.

This includes reduced vaccine response, interference with the body's natural hormones and increased cholesterol levels and/or risk of obesity.

Prime energy drink on sale in a supermarketHarry Cavanagh, CC BY-SA 2.0

A third-party test is said to have detected 'material levels' of PFAs in the drink, including 'significant' levels of certain acids, according to a court document dated August 2023.

It said: "The amount of PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, one of the PFAs) found within the product from testing is approximately three times the recommended lifetime health advisory for drinking water."

The document also details claims against Prime, saying there are '100 or more proposed' consumers and 'the aggregate amount in controversy exceeds $5,000,000.00 exclusive of interest and costs'.

That means Prime Hydration is looking to be sued for at least $5m and a jury trial has been demanded for five alleged breaches of law.

It states: "As a result of defendant's misconduct, Plaintiff (a person who brings a case against another in a court of law and in this case is named as Elizabeth Castillo) and putative Class Members (consumers) have suffered injury in fact, including economic damages.

"Plaintiff seeks damages, injunctive relief, and other equitable remedies for themselves and for the proposed classes."

In other words, legal action is being taken against Prime Hydration because consumers claim these harmful, manmade chemicals included in the drink have caused them or loved ones problems.

The court document states the 'defendant knew, or at minimum should have known, that its product contains PFAs' - the use of defendant here refers to Prime Hydration.

Neither KSI nor Logan Paul have made statements in relation to this at the time of writing.

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