Sure, coffee is fuel for everyone, but New Yorkers seem to especially thrive on it. That said, Brooklyn roasters take pride in their craft, with reports that Brooklyn’s approximately 37 independent coffee roasters trail just behind Portland’s 44 and Chicago’s 43—and even ahead of the 26 roasters that call coffee capital Seattle home.
But on Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that one of the longest-standing Brooklyn coffee roasters is recalling over 3,000 gallons of cold brew in New York and New Jersey.
Brooklyn Roasting Company describes itself as “New York’s leading homegrown coffee roasting company, servicing hundreds of high-end wholesale accounts across the 5 boroughs” of New York City. An FDA report dated July 21, 2026 indicates that starting July 2, the company withdrew 1,219 units carrying 2.5 gallons each of its Pasteurized Cold Brew Concentrate, totaling an apparent 3,047.5 gallons packed as “bag in a box,” says the report.
The reason for the recall is stated as, “Ambient storage of the product may lead to Clostridium botulinum toxin formation.” This may indicate botulism risk. It’s unclear whether the apparent temperature issue occurred due to the extreme heat in New York City this summer or another cause. Foodborne botulism, as described by the Mayo Clinic, is when “harmful bacteria thrive and make a toxin in places that have little oxygen, such as in home-canned food.”
The recalled cold brew is said to have been distributed between April 1 of this year and June 20, with “best by” codes ranging between “063026 through 093026.”
It’s said the company voluntarily contacted accounts or the public to alert them of the recall via two methods of outreach.
When the weather heats up, whether you buy your iced coffee or cold brew from Brooklyn Roasting Company (they ship products outside New York and host a subscription program) or another brand—or, if you make it at home—this may serve as a suggestion to keep it hot while it’s hot, or send it straight to be chilled.
One U.S. patent application filed in 2024 helps illustrate that C. botulinum is one type of microbe that proliferates in sealed environments, without oxygen. The acidity in some coffee may not be enough to head off its formation—and it takes heat to kill it off. Sources suggest room-temperature, air-tight-sealed cold brew can be a space friendly to the toxin.
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