Everything We Know About Starbucks’ Espresso Shot Recall

Per an August 15 FDA notice, 221 cases of Starbucks Vanilla Espresso Triple Shot drink have been recalled from grocery stores due to the “possible contamination by foreign material,” aka fragments of metal. The recall is voluntary on the part of the drink’s manufacturer, PepsiCo. According to Delish, the only states affected by the recall are Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Disturbingly enough, mass-produced food and drink items have a long history of metal contamination. Kraft Foods recalled nearly 300,000 cases of its macaroni and cheese in 2015, according to TIME, which has been succeeded by an ongoing slew of metal-related recalls of products from Baskin Robbins, Chicago’s Vienna Beef, and — most disturbingly — a brand of baby food (per Food Safety News). 

The FDA explains that metal can find its way into our food for a number of reasons. Sometimes, metal occurs naturally in soil and in the air, and other times it comes from “industrial, manufacturing, and agricultural processes.” In the case of this Starbucks drink, the culprit is the latter.