A company named Death Wish Coffee Co. with a skull and bones logo announced a recall on Tuesday of its 11-oz cans of nitrogen-infused cold brew coffee because they could potentially contain the deadly toxin botulin. The 5-year-old company sells what it calls “the world’s strongest coffee.”
The company, in a statement, said that while no illnesses have been reported, “it looks like our process” for producing the coffee “wasn’t perfect and we’re excited to revisit it…”
The 5-year-old company boasts that its product is “fiercely caffeinated” and it is. A typical cup of coffee, for example, has 12 to 16 milligrams of caffeine per fluid ounce, according to Consumer Reports. Death Wish contains 54.2 milligrams, according to product information on its website.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, botulism is “a rare but serious illness caused by a toxin that attacks the body’s nerves and causes difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis, and even death.”
The “Death Wish” jokes almost write themselves.
The news produced headlines such as ‘Death Wish Coffee’ Just Got Recalled For A Deadly Reason and tweets about “living up to its name.”
But company founder Mike Brown, 37, says he is very serious about the safety of his product.