Fans of a blue-raspberry-flavored energy drink may be in for a different kind of midafternoon jolt.
An unspecified number of cans of Celsius, a caffeinated soft drink, were accidentally filled with vodka-spiked seltzer before they hit shelves, according to a recall notice issued on Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration.
The affected cans were shipped to retailers between July 21 and 23 as a part of beach-themed variety packs of High Noon alcoholic seltzers. “The recall was initiated after High Noon discovered that a shared packaging supplier mistakenly shipped empty Celsius cans to High Noon,” the F.D.A. notice read.
The agency advised that the mislabeled cans will have a telltale silver lid, rather than the black lid that is customary of Celsius drinks. So far, no cases of illness or “adverse events” have been reported to the F.D.A., although some people online have worried that the drinks could be accidentally consumed by teenagers or alcoholics who abstain from drinking.
The pharmacy chain CVS, which sells the High Noon variety packs in question, said the products could be returned to its stores.
The incident quickly drew widespread attention, thanks in part to Celsius’s reputation as the unofficial beverage of hustle culture. Most cans of Celsius contain 200 milligrams of caffeine, roughly equivalent to six cans of Coca-Cola.
The drinks are beloved by fitness instructors, tech executives, investment bankers pulling all-nighters and politicians like Speaker Mike Johnson, who keeps a stash in his office fridge, according to The Washington Post.
What if some of those people suddenly, unwittingly, became tipsy on the job?
Krista Fontana, a spokeswoman for High Noon, said in an email that only a “small batch” of drinks had been affected, but could not specify a number of cans. The mislabeled seltzers were sent to Florida, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin, she said.
“We are working with the F.D.A., retailers and distributors to proactively manage the recall to ensure the safety and well-being of our consumers,” Ms. Fontana said.
Celsius did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Some fans of the beverage began eyeing their fridges with suspicion.
Kim Chuc, a 29-year-old software engineer in Brooklyn who drinks a Celsius nearly every day, said that earlier in the week a can had tasted a little funky. She was confident, though, that she would be able to tell if her drink had been swapped out with an alcoholic beverage.
Ms. Chuc said she had never tried the flavor involved in the recall, Astro Vibe: Sparkling Blue Razz Edition. (The company describes it as “inspired by the infinite adventure of space travel.”)
She said she could not see the mix-up causing that much of a problem — “unless you were, like, in the workplace and you chugged the whole thing.” A typical can of High Noon vodka seltzer contains 4.5 percent alcohol by volume.
Rocco Scartelli, 30, was relieved to learn about the recall before cracking open any of the cans of Celsius in his kitchen. (His favorite flavor is peach.) Mr. Scartelli, who works in tech and lives in New York, usually drinks a Celsius before going to the gym or taking a run.
Having a vodka seltzer instead would be “definitely counterproductive,” he said.
Callie Holtermann reports on style and pop culture for The Times.
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