The Massive Kirkland Coffee Recall That Still Haunts Costco

It's an unfortunate fact that recalls happen, and they're issued for many reasons. Sometimes a recall occurs from something as small as a wrong labeling or incorrect packaging; other times they happen on a much grander scale, such as the case with Costco Wholesale and a recall issued by Berner Foods Inc., one of its private label suppliers. The recall affected several cases of Kirkland Signature Cold Brew across the United States, with the beverages containing foreign material unsuitable for consumption. Unfortunately, Costco is no stranger to recalls, as it's faced several major ones in its history (and in fact, there was another major one that even happened within the same year as the cold brew).

On February 17, 2023, Berner Foods issued a major recall for Costco's Kirkland Signature Colombian Cold Brew. This stemmed from metal being found in the ready-made coffee, more specifically, a bolt, within products distributed between November 2022 and February 2023. Berner issued a statement to Costco members, urging them not to consume products containing a "best by date" range of October 19 to October 27, 2023, and return them to Costco for a full refund. The cold brew recall went on for weeks, with no injuries officially reported, but it did include 231,071 cases, or nearly 3 billion cans of the Kirkland Signature Cold Brew. Interestingly, Berner's member notice isn't listed on the recall archives page of Costco's site, even if no exact reason is provided.  

As extensive as the 2023 Kirkland Signature Cold Brew was, it was one of many that hit the warehouse giant in 2023. The very next month following the cold brew recall, California Splendor Inc. and Scenic Fruit Co. recalled their frozen organic strawberries due to an outbreak of Hepatitis A. The March recalls identified Kirkland Signature Organic Strawberries that were distributed to Costco stores in Los Angeles, Hawaii, and San Diego among others. These were only out of an abundance of caution, with no illnesses reported; however, a similar haunting major recall for Costco occurred with another private label supplier, Townsend Farms, in 2013. That time around, Townsend Farms recalled its Organic Antioxidant Blend after several cases of Hepatitis A were linked to pomegranate seeds in the product.

Certainly, no recall should be compared to another, and these have been closed and resolved. It's unclear whether Costco has continued partnerships with these suppliers, but members in the Costco Reddit threads maintained a sense of humor during the cold brew recall. One Redditor jokingly confirmed that they received the recall notice in their email and via a phone call mid-sip, but would finish their beverage and then return the unopened cans they bought. In another Reddit thread, a user playfully felt that people shouldn't complain about receiving free bolts and shavings with the coffee. As entertaining as these comments are, recalls can be very serious in nature and aren't a laughing matter. Thankfully, when it comes to Costco, members can rely on the big-box giant's excellent return policy.