6 Of The Biggest Chick-Fil-A Recalls

Recalls are fairly common in the fast food industry. Fast food titans like McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, and Taco Bell have all issued mass recalls for various products due to health concerns, packaging errors, quality issues, etc. Unfortunately, as supply chains become more complex to meet the demand for fast food intake, it becomes even easier for food to become contaminated, and more difficult to regulate food safety. Fortunately, the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention work together to create standards for food and product safety so that consumers can rest assured their food is safe to eat, and also help out when recalls are necessary.

While Chick-fil-A dominates the fast food scene, even it has not escaped having to issue a number of recalls for its products. However, since the first Chick-fil-A store opened in 1967, the company has only been involved in a handful of them. As a proud family-owned business with more than 3,000 stores, the highly popular chicken chain is committed to providing great fast food every day (except Sundays). Curious to see where the high-quality company slipped up? Then read on to learn more about the biggest recalls in Chick-fil-A history. 

1. Its Polynesian Sauce was recalled in 2024 due to a labeling mishap

At the heart of one of Chick-fil-A's most publicized recalls was the fan-favorite Polynesian dipping sauce. In early 2024, a labeling mishap forced the chicken chain to stop selling this dip for a brief period, due to food allergy concerns. According to CBS News, some of the dipping cups that one of Chick-fil-A's manufacturers, T. Marzetti Company, labeled as Polynesian sauce actually held Sriracha Sauce, which contains wheat and soy. Since the Polynesian sauce doesn't contain these common food allergens, a recall was especially necessary. The recall occurred in 27 of the 48 states where Chick-fil-A operates.

When the manufacturer notified Chick-fil-A of the contamination, Chick-fil-A urged customers to discard any Polynesian dipping sauce cups purchased between February 14 and February 27 of 2024, and explained that it was no longer distributing the damaged Polynesian sauces from its restaurants. Patrons with the restaurant's mobile app also received a message alerting them to the fact that the affected product was limited to the sauces distributed from Chick-fil-A restaurant locations. Because of this, bottled Polynesian sauces purchased online or from grocery stores were not impacted, and therefore deemed safe for consumption.

The chain's Polynesian sauce was introduced to the Chick-fil-A menu in 1984. And, despite this 2024 slip-up, the Polynesian sauce remains one of the chain's most popular 40 years later. The sauce is well-liked for its bold sweet and sour flavor and was originally introduced as a tangy accompaniment to the highly popular chicken nuggets.

2. A bacteria outbreak prompted Chick-fil-A to do a massive romaine lettuce recall in 2018

In 2018, Chick-fil-A was impacted by a massive recall of romaine lettuce. The FDA issued a public health advisory in November 2018, after an investigation found 62 reported illnesses and 25 hospitalizations across 16 states and some parts of Canada. The farms where the bacteria-infected food was grown had distributed the product to various retailers, so many grocery stores and restaurant chains were forced to pull romaine from their aisles and menus.

Chick-fil-A — alongside other fast food titans like Chipotle, Panera Bread, Sweetgreen, and Wendy's — had to respond to this recall. The chicken chain had received and even sold some of the tainted lettuce in its salads. At the time, a Madison, Alabama Chick-fil-A location posted to its Facebook page to explain how it was responding to the issue: "Due to a CDC national recall on romaine lettuce, we have discontinued selling our salads until further notice. Guest safety is our top priority, and we apologize for the inconvenience," the location wrote.

All Chick-fil-A locations stopped serving salads until the outbreak was traced and resolved; however, not before at least one case of E. coli was traced directly to the chain. According to Bill Marler of the Marler Clark Food and Safety Law Firm, a 23-year-old woman by the name of Eunice Cintron fell ill after consuming infected romaine lettuce from a Spicy Southwest Salad. After spending a week in the hospital, it was confirmed that her symptoms were linked to the toxin E. coli. Thankfully, neither Eunice nor the 24 other individuals who were hospitalized as a result of the outbreak lost their lives.

3. A supplier issue caused a voluntary recall of the chain's Chocolate Chunk Cookies in 2016

Chick-fil-A introduced its delicious Chocolate Chunk Cookies in 2012, and they quickly grew in popularity among patrons. The cookies are made from wholesome oats and feature both semi-sweet dark chocolate and milk chocolate chunks for that comforting and inviting old-fashioned chocolate chip cookie flavor. However, four years after the Chocolate Chunk Cookies were introduced to the Chick-fil-A menu, a recall was issued on them, and they were temporarily wiped from the menu.

CSM Bakery Solutions issued the recall in April 2016 after a post-production test of its flour revealed low-level traces of peanut. Since peanuts are not declared on Chick-fil-A's nutritional and allergen information for these cookies, the chain halted serving them and issued a notice on its website until the contamination issue was resolved. The fast food chain notified patrons and asked them to discard or return cookies (that were purchased before April 22, 2016) for a full refund. According to CBS, a statement was also released on the chain's website that read: "Restaurants will begin to serve cookies again within the next 1-2 weeks, and cookies will be available on a limited basis until supplies can be fully restocked by the end of May."

4. Millions of kid's meal toys were recalled by Chick-fil-A in 2001 due to choking concerns

The first toy recall in Chick-fil-A's history occurred back in 2001. The Planet Discovery Kids Meal Toys were small plastic disk replicas of the planets, sun, and moon that were accompanied by suction cups so they could be stuck to smooth surfaces like walls and windows. However, on February 5, 2001, the toys were recalled for a potential safety hazard. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission stated that the danger involved the suction cups becoming removed and then presenting a choking hazard for kids. 

Per QSR, Steve Robinson, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Chick-fil-A at the time, issued the following statement regarding the recall: "It has come to our attention that the suction cups may be too easily removed from the back of these toys, and some small children may be tempted to put the soft suction cups in their mouths. While there have been no reports to Chick-fil-A of injury associated with the Planet Discovery premiums, we are taking these steps to notify our customers out of a sense of concern and extra caution."

According to the CPSC, Chick-fil-A received seven reports of the suction cups coming off the toys, and in one instance a parent found their child choking on the suction cup. Thankfully, the parent was able to remove it without issue. The company encouraged patrons to either discard or return the Planet toys to a restaurant location for a free Icedream or replacement premium. Since these toys were distributed from 800 Chick-fil-A stores across the country, a whopping 3.8 million toys were officially recalled.

5. Some of its kid's meal toys were recalled in 2012 over potential safety issues

In the early 2010s, Chick-fil-A partnered with the Jim Henson Company to release its popular Creature Shop Puppet Toys. But not long after, the chain issued a recall on these toys, officially citing safety concerns as the reason. However, the public speculated whether or not controversy involving then-president Dan Cathy's public disdain for homosexuality was the true reason for the 2012 recall.

According to Business Insider, Chick-fil-A posted the following statement in restaurants across the country during the recall: "We apologize for any inconvenience but as of 7/19/2012 Chick-fil-A has voluntarily recalled all of the Jim Henson's Creature Shop Puppet Kids Meal toys due to a possible safety issue. Please be advised that there have not been any cases in which a child has actually been injured, however, there have been some reports of children getting their fingers stuck in the holes of the puppets." The company offered complimentary Icedream cones instead, until a replacement toy was made available.

Speculation arose surrounding the recall's reason when The Jim Henson Company posted this message to its Facebook on July 20, 2012: "The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over fifty years and we have notified Chick-fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors. Lisa Henson, our CEO is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-fil-A to GLAAD." GLAAD is a non-profit organization that advocates for the LGBTQ+ community. While the chain maintained that the recall was safety-related, Cathy's anti-gay marriage stance and The Jim Henson Company's public announcement led public opinion to question this recall.

6. A supplier mistakenly added a dairy allergen to the grilled nuggets in 2022, prompting a response from the chain

While not an official recall, a supplier error in 2022 involving Chick-fil-A's popular grilled nuggets raised allergen concerns. Chick-fil-A quickly responded with a statement on its website. According to Kids with Food Allergies, the statement explained: "A supplier notified us they had unintentionally added an undeclared dairy allergen in the recipe for our Grilled Filets and Grilled Nuggets. We are actively working with the supplier so this doesn't happen again and to ensure the allergen is removed." This statement further emphasized Chick-fil-A's commitment to food safety and transparency for its consumers: "We understand and take seriously the trust our guests place in us to make sure their food is how they expect it, and we apologize for this situation. Our priority is that our impacted guests can enjoy these products again soon," the statement read.

A few days after the original notice, Chick-fil-A worked with the supplier to ensure the dairy allergen was removed and patrons were able to once again enjoy the grilled nuggets and filets without fear of encountering dairy allergens. Since the recall in August 2022, the grilled chicken products have been dairy-free, and are labeled as such on the Nutrition and Allergen section of the company's website.