What Is Botulism? Death Wish Coffee Recalls Nitro Over Deadly Toxin Concern

Turns out the world’s strongest coffee might kill you — but it’s not because of the caffeine.

How’s this for irony: Death Wish Coffee recalled their cold brew cans Wednesday over concerns they contained potentially deadly toxins. Nitro Cold Brew canned coffees were removed from shelves over the risk they could cause botulism, which is a rare poisoning that comes from Clostridium botulinum bacteria.

The company took to their website to issue a statement:

“Our customers' safety is of paramount importance and Death Wish Coffee is taking this significant, proactive step to ensure that the highest quality, safest, and of course, strongest coffee products we produce are of industry-exceeding standards — thus we are taking this measure of recalling all Death Wish Nitro cans from shelves.”

Anyone who bought the possibly tainted coffee was cautioned to throw it out or return it to the store with proof of purchase to obtain a full refund.

“If you have it, chuck it out and we'll cut you a check within 60 days,” they wrote on Facebook Wednesday. “Although we're pretty disappointed, we'd like to thank Cornell for being so rigorous in their testing. We can only get better.” They added: “In short, it looks like our process wasn't perfect and we're excited to revisit it with guidance from some of the most meticulous scientists in the world.”

Botulism could be fatal and requires medical treatment. Symptoms consist of facial weakness, difficulty swallowing or speaking and paralysis. To treat the poisoning, patients are given an injection of antitoxin and assistance breathing.

“Botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by a toxin that attacks the body’s nerves,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention writes. “Symptoms of botulism usually start with weakness of the muscles that control the eyes, face, mouth, and throat. This weakness may spread to the neck, arms, torso, and legs. Botulism also can weaken the muscles involved in breathing, which can lead to difficulty breathing and even death.”

No illnesses related to the coffee were reported. If anyone drank Nitro recently, Death Wish Coffee urged the recall was just a precautionary step. “If you have some of the Nitro at home, go ahead and get rid of it,” they said. “There has been no degradation of quality at this point, but we want to err on the side of caution. No illnesses have been reported in connection with this issue. This recall is merely a precautionary step.”

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