A Kelowna based company has issued a recall due to a risk of botulism.

Interior Health has advised that N7 Nitro Cold Brew Coffee from Cherry Hill Coffee has been recalled due to temperature issues in the manufacturing process. The health authority said that the issue potentially failed to control pathogens, including botulism.

N7 Nitro cans and kegs have been pulled from shelves at retail stores as part of a voluntary recall.

Photo credit: Cherry Hill Coffee

It is important to note that there has not been a single incident or report of anyone getting sick from drinking N7 Nitro Cold Brew Coffee from any of our retailers in BC, but at Cherry Hill Coffee safety and quality are paramount and neither will be compromised," said Cherry Hill Coffee in a statement. 

On March 15, 2019, Cherry Hill Coffee met with Interior Health who provided new information and studies on the health risks of Cold Brew Coffee.
 
"A relatively new trend, cold brew coffee has a higher food safety risk than hot coffee because it is produced without heat and slowly and is not meant for immediate consumption," said the statement. "We worked with Interior Health, who reviewed our production and distribution and determined that we needed to make improvements to our transport and delivery to ensure we maintain refrigeration of the product at all times."
 
"Interior Health indicated we could still proceed with manufacturing and sales of the cold brew coffee, but we were instructed to change our Best Before Date from four months to two months and to improve record keeping.
 
"In light of the new information and concerns that refrigeration at retail or the consumer level were beyond our immediate control, we thought the responsible measure was to cease any production or sales and conduct a voluntary recall.

"We immediately called and visited all of our clients that might still have any product. We are pleased to say we recovered more than 90 per cent of the product in the field. Throughout this process we were in constant communication with Interior Health and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)."

If you purchased N7 Nitro Cold Brew Coffee from Cherry Hill or other stores carrying this product in the Interior region of B.C., you are asked not to drink it. 

Consumers are advised to either throw out the product or return it to the location it was purchased from, with proof of purchase for a full refund. 

If you consumed N7 Nitro Cold Brew Coffee and are feeling unwell, please seek medical advice by contacting your family physician or nurse practitioner.

At this time, no illnesses have been reported.