Snapchill Recalls All Cold Brew Cans Due to Toxic Growth Risk

The Snapchill logo. Snapchill produces branded cold brew cans on behalf of coffee roasting companies.

Wisconsin-based canned cold brew manufacturer Snapchill is recalling all of its unexpired products due to a growth risk of a toxic bacterium.

A day after sending recall notices to more than 150 coffee roaster and/or retail clients, the Green Bay company issued a public notice yesterday warning of the potential risk for growth of the toxin clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes botulism, due to the production process.

The company said it is not aware of any instances of growth of the toxin, and no illnesses have been reported.

Affected products have been distributed through roasters nationwide, and through direct sales from Snapchill.

“The problem was identified when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified Snapchill that the low acid canned foods process for manufacturing the recalled products was not filed with FDA, as is required by regulation,” Snapchill said in the recall announcement. “No illnesses have been reported to-date, and Snapchill is not aware of any instances in which the company’s products contained botulin toxin. Snapchill is working on filing the appropriate notification with FDA.”

According to the United States National Coffee Association, a trade group representing the coffee industry, airtight manufactured cold brew products are considered a low-acid food and are regulated by the FDA’s Low-Acid Canned Food (LACF) regulations.

DCN reached out to the FDA for clarification on requirements for companies manufacturing cold brew, but has not yet received a reply. (Note: Many federal offices were closed June 19 in observance of Juneteenth.)

Snapchill originated with Elemental Beverage Company, a Massachusetts company founded by thermal engineer Dave Dussault in 2019. The company soon expanded and rebranded, highlighting the Snapchill name, based on the popularity of its canned cold brew manufacturing services.

The company partners with roasting companies, transforming their coffees into ready-to-drink (RTD) branded cold brew cans using a propriety chilling process. The company recently relocated manufacturing to Green Bay.

Snapchill’s roster of clients represents a range of specialty coffee roasters, from larger national names such as Intelligentsia Coffee and George Howell to single-location local brands.

The recall notices urges consumers to either destroy the affected products or return them to Snapchill for a refund. Details and contact information are available here.

The complete list of products affected by the recall is available here.

Comments? Questions? News to share? Contact DCN’s editors here.