Just restocked your carton of coffee pods for the week? You might want to double-check the ones sitting in your cabinet: The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced a recall of the popular McDonald’s-branded McCafe Premium Roast Decaf Coffee K-Cup Pods for being mislabeled as decaf, according to the enforcement report. The product is manufactured by Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP), the company that also makes several other food and drink products, including Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, La Colombe, Swiss Miss and others.
Below, I include more information from the recall’s enforcement report and how to know if your coffee pods have been affected.
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Why were the coffee pods recalled?
The McCafe Premium Roast Decaf Coffee K-Cup Pods were recalled because several hundred cartons are believed to be mislabeled as decaf, though many of them may actually contain caffeine, according to the enforcement report. This may be concerning to you if you only drink decaffeinated coffee, especially for health reasons. The distribution pattern for the recall includes California, Indiana and Nevada. So far, the recall includes 960 cartons of the coffee pods, with each carton having 84 pods, according to the report. This works out to just over 80,000 pods.
This is part of a voluntary, firm-initiated recall, meaning the company notified the FDA on belief that the product is violative in some way — which the administration must confirm for it to be considered a recall, according to the FDA.
Decaf coffee pods to use instead
Below, I recommend more decaf coffee pod options. All of the products below have at least a 4-star average rating from 500 reviews or more.
4.4-star average rating from 18,416 reviews on Amazon
This variety pack comes with 54 decaf pods and includes a morning blend, 100% Columbian, Donut Shop and French Roast blends. The morning blend is a light roast, the Columbian and Donut Shop blends are medium and the French roast is dark. The grounds are made from 100% arabica coffee and are gluten-free, according to the brand.
4.3-star average rating from 90,014 reviews on Amazon
This pack comes with 100 decaf coffee pods filled with grounds made from 100% arabica coffee, according to Amazon. The brand also sells different varieties, including a breakfast blend, Columbian and French roasts, French vanilla, hazelnut and more.
4.4-star average rating from 89,585 reviews on Amazon
This set comes with 80 commercially compostable coffee pods that are K-Cup compatible, according to the brand. Each pod is made of a paper lid, a plant-based ring and a fiber filter. The grounds are a medium-dark roast made of 100% arabica coffee from Central America, according to the brand.
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I am commerce editor at NBC Select, where I write about deals and sale events daily. I also regularly report on recalls, including ones for home and lifestyle products. I wrote this story based off of information found in an enforcement report issued by the FDA.
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