The FDA Issued a Class II Recall for Ground Coffee Distributed to 15 States

If you recently purchased a bag of ground coffee, then it’s time to check your pantry for an important recall.

On March 13, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a recall for 12-ounce bags of Our Family-branded Traverse City Cherry artificially flavored decaf light roast ground coffee, manufactured by Massimo Zanetti Beverage, because some bags may have been mislabeled as “decaffeinated.” 

On March 25, the FDA assigned a Class II designation to the recall, defining it as “a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.” 

The recall affects 692 cases, each containing six 12-ounce bags — totaling 4,152 individual packages. The product, the FDA explained, has the UPC code “0 70253 11080 1” printed on it and is marked with a “best before” date of August 3, 2025. 

According to the FDA, the product was sold in 15 states across the United States, including Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

The FDA did not provide additional information on what customers should do if they possess any of the recalled product. However, the usual course of action is to either dispose of it or return it to the place of purchase. 

In the case of caffeine, some individuals may be susceptible to medical issues if they accidentally ingest it. As the Mayo Clinic noted, those with certain medical conditions should avoid it, as should individuals taking specific medications, including ephedrine, which “might increase your risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, or seizure,” and theophylline, which might “increase the adverse effects of caffeine, such as nausea and heart palpitations.” 

And as experts at the American Medical Association noted, everyone should remember that “Decaf is not free of caffeine.”

“Decaffeinated coffee has only slightly lower levels of polyphenols than regular coffee,” said Dr. Stephen Devries, a preventive cardiologist and executive director of the educational nonprofit Gaples Institute in Chicago.

Dr. Shannon Kilgore, a neurologist at the Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Palo Alto, California and Stanford University School of Medicine, added that “decaffeinated coffee isn’t zero caffeine, but certainly much less … A lot of people think it’s without caffeine, but it’s not. It’s about two to 15 milligrams, so certainly far less than caffeinated. But even if you went to decaf, you would probably have some withdrawal symptoms if you don’t withdraw judiciously.” 

So check your pantry and remember to check with your doctor about consuming coffee — decaf or otherwise—especially with any new medications.