What You Need To Know About The Chocolate-Covered Espresso Bean Recall
If you're a chocolate lover, chances are your cupboards and drawers are stocked with various forms of the treat that's been beloved by basically the whole world since the 1850s, per History, when the invention of the cocoa press enabled the separation of cocoa butter and cocoa solids and made it much more economical to manufacture chocolate confections on a large scale. (The cacao plant had of course been enjoyed for much, much longer by Mesoamerican societies before being sweetened by colonizers and brought to Europe in the 1500s.)
Considering how well chocolate complements other ingredients, the breadth of the world of chocolate-covered treats is not surprising. You've got your chocolate-covered pretzels, almonds, and rice cakes; not to mention chocolate-covered blueberries, bananas, and caramels. One candy that unites chocolate with another potent and well-loved bean is chocolate-covered espresso beans, but if you've recently purchased these ultra caffeinated treats, you're going to want to know about a recent recall of the popular candy.
These recalled chocolate-covered espresso beans may contain peanuts
If you've purchased any chocolate-covered espresso beans recently, you're going to want to take a look at which brand you selected. On March 10, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a notice of a recall of 9-ounce tubs of Albanese Dark Chocolate Espresso Beans. The notice states that the tubs might contain undeclared peanuts, as it was discovered that Albanese Dark Chocolate Panned Peanuts were accidentally mixed into the espresso beans. Anyone with a peanut allergy or sensitivity could run the risk of a life-threatening reaction when eating the espresso beans and should return or throw away the potentially tainted tubs immediately. Given the similarity in size between peanuts and espresso beans, it would be easy to mistake one for the other.
The recall affects chocolate-covered espresso beans sold in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin starting December 27, 2021. The beans' UPC code is 634418621436 and the tub lot number is LB1111514X1, the tubs have an expiration date of December 25, 2022. Customers can return the beans to their place of purchase for a full refund.