The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has officially set a risk level of Class III on recently recalled coffee products sold on Amazon.
These coffee items were voluntarily recalled by the company Waco Bottling LLC over ingredient labeling concerns.
Recalled Coffee Products
Last week, Waco Bottling LLC announced a voluntary recall of a batch of coffee concentrate the company sells online. TryBrewed Coffee Concentrate, which sells in a case of six amber glass bottles, was recalled nationwide.
So far, it appears 321 cases containing about 3,852 bottles of this coffee concentrate have been taken off shelves.
No Ingredient Label
This recall occurred because the company realized that these amber glass bottles didn’t have any ingredient labels, statements, or nutrition labels.
The FDA requires these labels to be present on any and all food items, as many people need to know the ingredients of products because of allergies and dietary restrictions.
A Potential Risk to Consumers
If the company had not voluntarily recalled these coffee products, the FDA themselves would have issued a recall to try to eliminate this potential risk to consumers.
Food items with no ingredient labels could lead to allergic reactions or sickness in consumers, as they’re not aware of what they’re eating or drinking.
How This Could Have Happened
There are many reasons these products could have been shipped and sold without any ingredient or nutrition labels.
Often, these situations occur thanks to human error. Those packaging these bottles may not have realized that labels fell off, or that items being shipped didn’t have any labels attached to them to begin with.
A Class III Risk
After Waco Bottling LLC issued this voluntary recall, the FDA also set its own classification risk on these recalled items.
According to the FDA, these products are a Class III. This level of classification occurs in “a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product is not likely to cause adverse health consequences.” It is the lowest of the classification levels.
Other Classifications
The FDA has two other, more severe, classifications that they can use during other recall situations.
A Class II level is issued when using a product could “cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”
The Most Severe Level
During serious situations where a product may be causing illnesses, the FDA can issue a Class I risk, which is the most severe category the agency has at its disposal.
A Class I is only issued in “a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
Amazon Recalls
Thus far, it appears these coffee concentrate products that have been recalled have been sold and distributed on Amazon.
Amazon closely watches for recalls and product safety alerts. Once they’ve received an alert from companies about voluntary recalls, they also notify customers on their platform who have bought this item.
Recent FDA Recalls
These coffee recalls come during a busy time for the FDA, as various types of products have recently been recalled — and for a variety of different reasons.
Perhaps most notably, the FDA and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been battling an ongoing salmonella outbreak that has left dozens of Americans ill — and even hospitalized — throughout the country.
Cucumbers to Blame for Salmonella Outbreak
Recently, both the CDC and the FDA revealed that they believe cucumbers are to blame for this ongoing salmonella outbreak. Many cucumbers have been recalled by companies because they’ve been found to be contaminated with salmonella bacteria.
As a result of this situation, 68 people have been hospitalized around the country. Though the CDC has stated that only some states seem to be affected by these infections, the agency has also warned that other states could also be experiencing this salmonella outbreak soon.
Other Major Recalls
While cucumbers have faced mass recalls, various other food recalls have occurred in just the last few weeks.
For example, more than 10,000 potato products have been recalled because of a potential listeria contamination. Meanwhile, the FDA has also updated their risk level of recalled instant noodles, declaring that these noodles have a Class I risk.
