Parents who keep Once Upon a Farm's Tractor Wheels bars in the pantry are being told to throw them out immediately after a nationwide recall tied to reports of toddlers choking, amid concerns that standard choking interventions may not dislodge the bars. The soft-baked snack bars are the subject of a voluntary recall and an FDA safety alert after reports of kids struggling to breathe after eating them.
What Triggered the Recall
Once Upon a Farm said it is “initiating a voluntary recall of its Tractor Wheels soft-baked bars due to potential choking hazard for toddlers ages 1.5 - 2.5,” according to a statement posted by the company's investor relations site. The company said the decision was based on three consumer complaints. No other Once Upon a Farm products are affected, the statement noted.
The Food and Drug Administration, which was cited as the source of the recall information, said it received reports describing toddlers between 18 and 30 months old who suffered what the agency called “the inability to breathe” after eating the bars, according to The New York Times. The paper reported the FDA did not specify how many reports it had received.
Why Standard Choking Response May Not Work
What makes this recall especially alarming is how the product behaves once it's in a child's mouth. Per the Times, the bars reportedly form a dry, sticky mass when chewed that standard choking interventions, including back blows and the Heimlich maneuver, may fail to dislodge. That detail has driven much of the urgency behind the FDA's warning, since the usual emergency response for a choking child may not be effective here.
Some reported choking incidents required emergency response intervention and hospital observation, according to a report from Food Safety News. As NBC Chicago reported, some children who consumed the snack were hospitalized.
Where the Bars Were Sold
The recall covers all flavors, quantities, lots and dates of Once Upon A Farm Tractor Wheels Organic Toddler Soft-Baked Bars, the food safety outlet noted, including varieties such as Apple, Sweet Potato, & Spinach; Strawberry, Pumpkin, & Beet; and Banana, Pumpkin & Cauliflower. The products were distributed nationwide via the internet and to distribution centers and retail stores, the company said in its press release.
The bars are sold in stores across the United States, including Costco, Target and Walmart, per NBC Chicago, and the snack is also sold online and may be available through Amazon.com and other third-party vendors, the food safety outlet's reporting indicates.
What Parents Should Do Now
Once Upon a Farm's guidance is direct: consumers should not open the package or use the contents, and they can return the product for a full refund or contact the company's customer-care team, according to the company's statement. Separately, the company's own FAQ page instructs, “Please throw away any you have at home.”
The FDA has advised consumers who have the snack to immediately throw it away, per the agency's alert. With the recall covering every flavor, lot and date of the Tractor Wheels line, there's no need to check packaging codes before discarding the bars — any version of the product falls under the recall.
