A TikTok content creator is warning her audience to be “careful” after consuming a few Monster energy drinks she posits are counterfeit. In a video with over 27,000 views, @thriftybuzinezz explained how she noticed a difference between cans with green and metallic-colored tabs.
“It’s making this video so you guys can be aware and be careful, OK?” she added.
“No [expletive], you guys. I stopped going to those gas stations. I only go to Kroger and get my drinks,” she said. “Well, someone brought me some of [the counterfeits], I drank two of them, and my stomach hurt so bad. Like I was gonna go to the hospital.”
So, is there any actual difference between the Monster energy drinks?
The difference is there if you see it or drink it.
Lots of commenters wondered why cases of Monster come with both green and silver tabs: “I work in a gas station, they come in cases with different tabs, BUT I’ve always wondered why some have green and some have regular.”
While some people think that silver tabbed monsters are counterfeit, they’re still a part of the company. But there is a difference that Monster connoisseurs have noticed between tab colors and cans.
One Reddit post speculated that silver tabbed monsters are counterfeit, to which a commenter replied, “There are a bunch of different flavors that have the silver tabs. It was a supply issue. Different batches taste different sometimes.”
Some users claimed that the European Monsters always have silver tabs, and due to a frequent supply issue, they end up populating stores. However, those Monsters have a different flavor that many customers don’t care for.
Another person added, “100% silver tabs always taste different. Like others said it’s a supply issue. The production plant that made these didn’t get [the] real tabs shipped to them. [A] low quality production plant [equals] low quality ingredients, [which equals] bad taste. Monster has refunded me for an entire case of [the original] flavor just because it came with silver tabs. They agreed it was not normal. [It] doesn’t matter what random people say on the internet compared to Monster speaking with its money.”
Tab color alone isn’t proof that these cans are counterfeit, as the company legitimately makes silver tabs based on their European market. Regional plant differences do account for changes in flavor, however, which consumers have noticed.
@thriftybuzinezz has anyone seen these??
♬ original sound – thriftybuzinezz/pkamp84
Are the silver tabbed monsters bad for you?
@thriftybuzinezz claimed that after drinking a silver tabbed Monster, she nearly needed to go to the hospital due to stomach pains. She also commented that the silver tabbed monsters weren’t “FDA approved.”
As some replies noted, there’s no such thing as an FDA-approved beverage, making that a false part of the narrative. The FDA doesn’t approve or disprove foods, drinks or sell-by dates.
Many speculate that silver tabbed monsters are made at worse quality plants, which changes their flavor entirely. Some argue that this makes them less safe overall. But, there’s nothing that specifically concludes that a silver tabbed monster can land you in a hospital bed. They’re made by the same company with some marginal differences in flavor. Many customers can’t notice a change between the two types, despite trying both. Keen tasters may notice a change in flavor if they pay attention.
The Mary Sue has reached out to Monster Beverage Corporation via email and @thriftybuzinezz via TikTok for comment.
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