French Broad Chocolates PBC, an artisan chocolate company based in Asheville, North Carolina, has issued a voluntary recall of its Bette’s Bake Sale Bonbon Collection after discovering a labeling error that could cause someone with a walnut allergy to accidentally eat a walnut-containing piece of chocolate.
The FDA published the recall notice on April 24, 2026. No illnesses have been reported.
The error is specific and worth understanding precisely, because it affects anyone who bought these chocolates as a gift, received them as a gift, or purchased them thinking they knew what each piece contained.
What Is The Labeling Error?
The Bette’s Bake Sale Bonbon Collection comes with a printed tasting notes insert, a small guide that tells you which bonbon is which.
The collection includes a Walnut Fudge bonbon that contains walnuts, and a Peach Cobbler bonbon that does not.
In the printed guide included with the affected batches, those two pieces have been swapped.
The guide says the Walnut Fudge piece is in the position of the Peach Cobbler, and vice versa.
That means a person relying on the printed guide, which is exactly what a careful allergy-aware consumer would do, could reach for what the guide says is the Peach Cobbler and be eating the Walnut Fudge.
For someone with a walnut or tree nut allergy, that mistake is not merely unpleasant. It can trigger anaphylaxis, a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction that requires immediate medical attention.
The company discovered the error on April 20, 2026, when a French Broad Chocolates team member flagged the discrepancy. The company issued the recall three days later.
“The Walnut Fudge bonbon, which contains walnuts, is incorrectly identified in the printed tasting notes included with the product,” the company stated in the recall notice. “The Walnut Fudge and Peach Cobbler bonbons are switched in the guide, which means a consumer relying on the printed materials could mistakenly consume a nut-containing piece.”
Which Products Are Affected And How To Know If You Have Them
The recall covers three sizes of the Bette’s Bake Sale Bonbon Collection in two batch numbers.
The 6-piece box at 2.5 ounces, batch 260414 with a June 29, 2026 best-by date, and batch 260417 with a June 30, 2026 best-by date.
The 12-piece box at 5 ounces, batch 260414 with a June 22, 2026 best-by date, and batch 260417 with a June 30, 2026 best-by date.
The 24-piece box at 10 ounces, batch 260414 with a June 29, 2026 best-by date, and batch 260417 with a June 30, 2026 best-by date.
The batch number and expiration date are the identifiers to check. If your box has one of those batch numbers, it is affected by the recall regardless of whether the box has been opened.
Where Were The Affected Products Sold?
The affected products were distributed between April 14 and April 20, 2026.
They were sold in two ways, in person at French Broad Chocolates’ retail store in Asheville, North Carolina, and online at frenchbroadchocolates.com, with shipping to customers in 40 states and the District of Columbia.
The states that received shipments are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
That is a significant geographic footprint for an Asheville-based artisan chocolate company, and it reflects French Broad Chocolates’ national reputation as one of the more acclaimed small-batch bean-to-bar makers in the country.
The wide shipping reach is also why anyone who ordered artisan chocolates online in April, or who received a gift box of bonbons from someone who did, should check their product immediately if they have a nut allergy.
The Seriousness Of Tree Nut Allergies
Tree nut allergies affect approximately four million Americans, according to the Food Allergy Research and Education organization.
Walnuts, specifically, are one of the “Big Nine” major food allergens recognized under federal law, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act requires that walnut content be declared clearly on product packaging.
The recall is being conducted because the printed insert failed to identify the walnut-containing piece correctly, which is a failure of that declaration even if the box itself may have listed walnuts as an ingredient in general.
For most people, eating an unexpected walnut in a chocolate bonbon is merely surprising.
For the roughly four million Americans with tree nut allergies, and for the subset of those whose reactions are severe, the unexpected exposure is a medical emergency.
Anaphylaxis can include throat swelling, difficulty breathing, a dangerous drop in blood pressure, and loss of consciousness.
It requires immediate administration of epinephrine and emergency medical care. The severity of any individual reaction depends on the person’s specific sensitivity level.
That is why even a labeling error, not contamination, not a manufacturing defect, just a swapped description in a paper insert, warrants a full FDA recall.
What To Do If You Have These Chocolates
If you purchased Bette’s Bake Sale Bonbon Collection from French Broad Chocolates between April 14 and April 20, 2026, or received them as a gift during that period, check the batch number on your box. If it shows 260414 or 260417, the product is affected.
Consumers with a tree nut allergy who have these products are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund or to discard the product.
You should not simply set them aside or attempt to identify the pieces yourself from the affected insert, since the insert is the source of the error.
If you have questions, contact French Broad Chocolates’ customer service directly at support@frenchbroadchocolates.com or by phone at 828.252.4181, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern time.
The FDA recall notice is publicly available at the FDA’s website under Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts.
What Is French Broad Chocolates?
French Broad Chocolates PBC was founded in Asheville, North Carolina, and has built a national reputation as one of the country’s premier bean-to-bar chocolate makers.
The company makes chocolate from scratch beginning with cacao beans, sourcing, fermenting, drying, roasting and refining the chocolate in-house rather than working from pre-made couverture.
The PBC designation stands for Public Benefit Corporation, a legal structure that obligates the company to pursue defined social and environmental goals alongside financial objectives.
Their physical store is located in Asheville’s River Arts District, which has become a notable destination for food and arts tourism in western North Carolina.
The Bette’s Bake Sale Bonbon Collection is a signature product, a curated box of small, themed bonbons representing classic American baked goods in chocolate form.
It is the kind of product that gets purchased as a gift, shared at events, and mailed to family members across the country, which is precisely why a labeling error matters at this scale.
The error was caught internally, a team member identified it, and the company issued the recall promptly. The FDA published it within a day of the company’s announcement. No illnesses have been reported.
