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The Biggest Recalls In Chick-Fil-A History

Column: industry Tag: Chick-fil-A,Food Safety,Allergen Recall,Kid's Meal Toys Published: 2024-08-12 15:48 Source: www.mashed.com Author: AMY BELL

Fans of fast food chicken sandwiches may feel good that Chick-fil-A hasn't had a lot of recalls, but the ones it has gone through have proven to be pretty significant. These recalls have hit nearly every aspect of the menu, including dipping sauces, nuggets, filets, sides, desserts, and even a couple of kid's meal toys.

Given that we could uncover only six recalls to hit the chain in a little over 20 years, the truth is that Chick-fil-A doesn't have too bad of a track record. Most of the food recalls were related to allergy concerns, while one was connected to a nationwide bacterial outbreak that struck other restaurants and suppliers. Meanwhile, all the kid's meal toys that were recalled were because of safety issues, although one was mired in political controversy as well. A few people ended up in the hospital because of items that were ultimately recalled.

Thankfully, nobody has been known to have died from any of the recalled products discussed here. Surely we all hope that Chick-fil-A and its customers will continue to have the same type of luck in the future as the company makes proactive choices to ensure the health of its customers. Here are all the details about these recalls and their repercussions for Chick-fil-A.

Polynesian sauce dipping cups

The most recent recall that hit Chick-fil-A took place in 2024 and concerned its Polynesian Sauce. The containers of this sauce were mislabeling, making it potentially dangerous for those with certain allergies who had read the label and assumed that they would be safe dipping their fries and nuggets in the sauce. The company moved quickly to announce its Polynesian sauce recall, adding signs in its stores, putting a banner on its website, and sending out an alert on its mobile app.

The problem was with supplier T. Marzetti Co., which produced Polynesian Sauce cups that actually contained Sriracha instead. Anyone with a wheat or soy allergy could have potentially had an allergic reaction to the sauce, assuming they were eating a sauce that was safe for them. After all, the Polynesian sauce has been around since 1984 and is quite familiar to those who frequent the restaurant. It would reasonably be known as a normally safe option for those with soy and wheat allergies. While the potentially mislabeled sauces weren't in every Chick-fil-A, they were in quite a few, with locations in 27 states out of 48 affected by the recall.

While Chick-fil-A stopped distributing the sauce in its restaurants, it was still concerned about leftover packets lingering in homes. The restaurant asked anyone who had gotten potentially affected packets of Polynesian Sauce between February 14 and February 27, 2024 to discard them.

Grilled chicken nuggets and filets

When J.P. Powers and his mom, Francine,visited Chick-fil-A on August 13, 2022, they specifically asked whether the nuggets they were ordering contained any dairy products because of J.P.'s life-threatening allergies to the ingredient. After being told that they were safe, the teenager sat down to eat his meal. He proceeded to have an allergic reaction so strong that his throat started to close up and he needed emergency medical care. The family filed a lawsuit with the New York Supreme Court. The restaurant initially claimed that there was no dairy in the nuggets. However, upon further research, it turned out that Chick-fil-A was very, very wrong.

Later in that month, the restaurant admitted that its supplier had made a mistake that meant the product's actual ingredients didn't match the allergen information advertised on the Chick-fil-A website. As a result, both the Grilled Chicken Nuggets and Grilled Chicken Filets indeed contained dairy products.

The chain immediately let the public know about its mistake and demanded new grilled chicken products from its supplier without any dairy included. Currently, the restaurant lists neither the Grilled Chicken Sandwich (which features a Grilled Chicken Filet) nor the Grilled Nuggets as containing dairy. With increased scrutiny from the 2022 incident, this hopefully means customers with dairy allergies can safely order them.

Romaine lettuce in salads

In November of 2018, there was an outpouring of recalls on romaine lettuce that had been infected with E. coli bacteria. Chick-fil-A happened to be an unlucky recipient of some of the tainted lettuce and stopped serving salads until the outbreak could be traced and resolved.

Most of the people who got sick during the E. coli outbreak remembered eating something with romaine lettuce in it. We found an account of at least one customer who was able to trace her infection with the strain in question — E. coli O5157 — directly back to romaine lettuce from Chick-fil-A. As per the Marler Clark law firm, Eunice Cintron was hospitalized with extreme digestive distress, fever, and a headache two days after eating contaminated romaine lettuce. The source appeared to be a Spicy Southwest Chicken Salad she had purchased from a Chick-fil-A location in Sacramento, California on April 9, 2018. She rated her abdominal pain level at a staggering 10 out of 10 and remained in the hospital for seven days before she was able to return home.

According to the CDC, Cintron was one of 62 people around the U.S. who fell ill after eating tainted lettuce acquired from various sources in 16 different states. The E. coli outbreak resulted in 25 hospitalizations. While there were no deaths reported as a result of this particular outbreak, two people developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Chick-fil-A had an allergen-related recall in 2016 that directly affected its Chocolate Chunk Cookies. With the passage of the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act in 2004 food companies were required to clearly list allergens on packaging. This also led to numerous recalls for undeclared allergens. While the act doesn't strictly apply to restaurants, many establishments like Chick-fil-A have become more allergen-aware, listing potentially harmful ingredients and recalling foods with possible allergens to avoid lawsuits. The chain's Chocolate Chunk Cookies were among the first allergy-related recalls for Chick-fil-A.

CSM Bakery Solutions, the supplier for the restaurant's Chocolate Chunk Cookies, let Chick-fil-A know that the cookies may have been contaminated with peanuts during production. Since the restaurant lists the cookies as nut-free, it was quick to pull the treats out of stores so as not to accidentally activate someone's peanut allergies, which can turn deadly. The company estimated it could get a limited number of safe cookies back on the dessert menu within a week or two. However, it didn't commit to having its normal supply for a full month while CMS Bakery Solutions was making up the difference for the recalled cookies.

Operating under an abundance of caution, Chick-fil-A asked customers to get rid of any cookies they had acquired before April 22, 2016, when the recall was enacted. It was also possible to bring your uneaten cookie to a local Chick-fil-A spot and ask for a refund.

Jim Henson Creature Shop Puppet Kid's Meal toy

The earliest recalls that Chick-fil-A had concerned toys from its Kid's Meals, including a Muppets toy in 2012. While the stated issue with the toy was related to safety, it had ties to a boycott as well.

On July 19, 2012, Chick-fil-A recalled all its Jim Henson's Creature Shop Puppet toys from its Kid's Meals ostensibly because of safety concerns. The restaurant claimed that some children managed to get their fingers wedged in the puppets and had difficulty getting them out. The Muppet toys were scheduled from the middle of July until the middle of August. After they were pulled, kids received an Icedream cone instead until the next toy campaign started. However, at the time of the recall, it didn't appear that any kid had incurred any such reported injuries, leading some to speculate that there was more going on than simple safety concerns.

That's because of a statement made by then-president Dan Cathy, who had said that the restaurant only supported heterosexual couples. This was reportedly offensive to the Jim Henson Company, when then decided to boycott the restaurant on July 20 ... the day after the recall.

The Jim Henson Company sent all the money earned from the toys prior to the boycott to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination (GLAAD). While Chick-fil-A later issued a statement that it would respect customers regardless of sexual orientation, the damage was done. It also claimed that the recall and the boycott were unrelated.

Planet Discovery Kid's Meal toy

The earliest Kid's Meal toy recall at Chick-fil-A, which took place in 2001 and centered on toys that were part of the Planet Discovery collection, had no apparent political or social complications. Yet, there were several doubts raised about safety.

These Kid's Meal toys were collectible plastic disks that featured the sun, moon, and all the planets. They also had a suction cup on the back that allowed kids to stick them onto surfaces such as windows. However, the suction cup could easily come off of the toy. The company received seven reports of the suction cup detaching from the toy, with one report of a parent catching a small child choking on the detached part. Luckily, no children were seriously harmed, but a recall was clearly merited.

Over 1.5 million toys had already been given out in 800 restaurants in January 2001 alone. Ultimately, the company recalled around 3.8 million toys across the U.S. and planned to replace the toys with safer versions. Chick-fil-A warned parents that they should not let young children play with the toy and allowed customers to swap the potentially harmful toys for an Icedream dessert.

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