FDA warns all Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels bars pose a choking hazard

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says consumers should not buy or serve Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Organic Toddler Soft-Baked Bars because of a potentially fatal choking hazard. The October 30 advisory applies to every flavor, quantity and variety, including all lot codes and expiration dates.

FDA says it received several reports describing toddlers ages 1.5 to 2.5 suffering complete airway obstruction and being unable to breathe after eating the bars. The agency says the chewed product reportedly forms a dry, sticky mass that standard choking interventions, including back blows and the Heimlich maneuver, may fail to dislodge. Some reported incidents required emergency responders and hospital observation.

The scope is the product line, not one lot

This is broader than a recall tied to a single production date. The affected product is the Tractor Wheels toddler bar line in all flavors, quantities and varieties, regardless of the lot code or expiration date printed on the package. FDA says the bars were sold nationwide online and at stores including Costco, Target and Walmart, and may also be available through Amazon and other third-party sellers.

Once Upon a Farm's recall statement names three varieties: Apple, Sweet Potato & Spinach; Strawberry, Pumpkin & Beet; and Banana, Pumpkin & Cauliflower. The company says no other Once Upon a Farm products are affected. That means consumers should match the product name, not discard the company's entire range.

FDA and the company describe the reports differently

The company says its voluntary recall followed three consumer complaints involving toddlers ages 1.5 to 2.5. FDA uses the less specific term “several reports” and describes complete airway obstruction, emergency intervention and hospital observation. Those statements can both be true, but neither source provides a case-by-case table or the number of packages sold, so a reliable incident rate cannot be calculated.

FDA says it informed the company of adverse-event reports and that the company agreed to initiate a recall. Once Upon a Farm says it initiated the voluntary recall and plans to reformulate the product. The company has not yet described the recipe or texture change, and FDA has not announced that a reformulated version is cleared for sale.

What families and retailers are told to do

FDA tells consumers to throw the bars away immediately and tells retailers not to sell them. The company tells customers not to open or use the product and says they can return it to the place of purchase for a full refund or contact care@uponafarm.com. Those instructions apply even when a package has not expired and even when the household has used earlier bars without a problem.

FDA says consumers who believe a child has symptoms should contact a health-care provider, and instructs people to call 911 if someone is choking and first-aid measures fail. The next material evidence will be any FDA update with a more precise incident count, confirmation that retail removal is complete, or details of a reformulated product. Until then, the official direction is unambiguous: do not buy or serve any Tractor Wheels toddler bar currently in circulation.

Sources: U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory and Once Upon a Farm recall statement.