A 29-year-old personal trainer from the United Kingdom died from an overdose after accidentally ingesting a caffeine powder with the equivalent to as much as 200 cups of coffee.
Tom Mansfield, a father of two from Colwyn Bay, Wales, died on Jan. 5 from what's been ruled as caffeine toxicity, officials confirmed, according to BBC.
He had purchased a 100-gram bag of caffeine powder from Blackburn Distributions, but miscalculated the serving when making a drink. He tried to weigh the recommended dose of 60-300 mg, but used a scale that measured from two grams to 5,000 grams.
Mansfield reportedly began grabbing his chest and said his heart was beating too fast. He then went to lay down, but minutes later his wife, Suzannah, found him foaming at the mouth and immediately called for an ambulance.
Paramedics tried to resuscitate him for up to 45 minutes, per BBC, but he was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The post-mortem exam showed that Mansfield had caffeine levels of 392 mg per liter of blood, according to the coroner John Gittins. An average cup of coffee produces 2 to 4 mg per liter of blood.
Gittens told BBC that Mansfield was trying for the "mid-range of the recommended dose," but "he got his maths wrong," causing "unintended consequences."
Blackburn Distributions director Ben Blackburn said in a statement that the suggested dosage could be consumed up to twice a day. He added that there are scales available to weigh the small amounts of powder.
At the time of Mansfield's death, scoops did not come with the powder, but Blackburn said that has changed in addition to updated instructions and potential side effects. The coroner said that if scoops were available at the time, then Mansfield would still likely be alive today, according to North Wales Live.
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