About the Recalled Products
The recall covers all flavors, all lot codes, and all best-if-used-by dates from October 30, 2026 through August 26, 2027 of the Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Organic Toddler Soft-Baked Bars. The recalled products include:
- Strawberry, Pumpkin & Beet — 5 ct, 3.35 oz (UPC 81000351261) and 10 ct, 6.7 oz (UPC 810003512932)
- Apple, Sweet Potato & Spinach — 5 ct, 3.35 oz (UPC 81000351260) and 10 ct, 6.7 oz (UPC 810003512840)
- Banana, Pumpkin & Cauliflower — 5 ct, 3.35 oz (UPC 81000351262)
- Variety Pack, 20 ct, 13.4 oz (UPC 810003512918) and 30 ct, 20.1 oz (UPC 810003512925)
- Baby & Toddler Snack Sampler, 9 ct (Case UPC 10810003513670), 12 ct (Case UPC 10810003513694), and Ultimate Snack Sampler, 15 ct (Case UPC 10811003513687)
The products were sold at Costco, Target, and Walmart stores nationwide, as well as online through the company’s own website, Amazon, and other third-party sellers. All lot codes currently in distribution are included.
Latest Updates
Once Upon a Farm announced the voluntary recall on October 30, 2026, after receiving three consumer complaints of choking and after the FDA notified the company of multiple adverse event reports involving toddlers aged 1.5 to 2.5 years [1]. The FDA confirmed that some of those incidents resulted in complete airway obstruction requiring emergency intervention and hospital observation, and that standard choking interventions — including back blows and the Heimlich maneuver — may fail to dislodge the mass that the bar forms when chewed [2]. No deaths had been publicly reported as of the recall announcement, but the company acknowledged falling short of its safety standards and stated it was working with the FDA to remove all affected product from distribution [3].
Why the Strawberry, Pumpkin & Beet Bar Poses a Choking Risk
The Tractor Wheels bars are designed and marketed specifically for toddlers between 18 months and 2.5 years old — an age range defined by developmental pediatricians as one of the highest-risk windows for choking because children in this stage are still learning to chew effectively, cannot reliably coordinate their swallowing mechanics, and have airways proportionally narrower than older children or adults.
According to the FDA’s characterization of the defect, the bar’s texture changes dramatically when it contacts saliva during chewing, rapidly hydrating into a dense, dry, and sticky mass. That physical transformation is dangerous for two reasons: the resulting material is adhesive enough to conform to the shape of the airway and form a seal that blocks airflow, and it resists the mechanical disruption that standard emergency choking interventions rely on. A caregiver who correctly executes back blows or abdominal thrusts on a choking toddler may find that neither technique is sufficient to dislodge a Tractor Wheels bar mass from the airway.
The Marketing Contradiction at the Heart of the Lawsuit
Once Upon a Farm positioned the Tractor Wheels bar as an organic, developmentally appropriate toddler snack — a soft-baked product designed for the youngest eaters, marketed with the implicit assurance that a product sold specifically for this age group had been formulated with that group’s safety in mind. The product’s name, its packaging, and its retail placement in the toddler snack category all communicated that it was safe for a child as young as 18 months to eat without close physical supervision for each bite.
A snack that forms an airway-obstructing mass when chewed — and that resists the emergency techniques parents are taught to use when a child chokes — cannot be described as appropriate for unsupervised toddler consumption regardless of its organic ingredients. The gap between how the product was marketed and what it actually does in a toddler’s airway is the foundation of product liability claims now being evaluated by attorneys on behalf of affected families.
Incidents Requiring Emergency Response
The FDA reported multiple confirmed incidents of complete airway obstruction in toddlers aged 1.5 to 2.5 years, with some requiring emergency intervention and hospital observation as of the October 30, 2026 recall announcement. The FDA had received three formal consumer complaints of choking, and the company acknowledged that it had also received direct reports from customers before initiating the recall.
No deaths attributable to the Tractor Wheels recall had been publicly reported at the time of publication. The absence of a confirmed fatality does not reduce the legal significance of complete airway obstruction events requiring emergency medical care in children — these are serious adverse health outcomes that may support individual injury claims as well as a class action on behalf of families who purchased a product that posed an undisclosed risk to their children.
Once Upon a Farm’s Admission
In its recall announcement, Once Upon a Farm stated publicly: “We fell short of that, and that is why we are taking these aggressive actions.” That language — an unqualified acknowledgment that the company did not meet its own standard — is a significant admission in a product liability context. It is not a defense; it is a concession that the product reached consumers in a form that the manufacturer itself did not consider acceptable.
The company has also indicated that it is working on a reformulation of the Tractor Wheels product, which further underscores that the choking hazard was a correctable design characteristic of the bar’s current formula rather than an inherent and unavoidable property of snack products for this age group.
Can I File a Lawsuit?
If your child choked on a Tractor Wheels bar, experienced an airway obstruction event, or required emergency medical care after eating the recalled product, you may have a product liability claim against Once Upon a Farm. Contact an attorney promptly, as state filing deadlines apply.
What to Do Now
Stop serving Tractor Wheels bars in any flavor immediately and do not use any remaining product, including packages that have not yet reached their best-if-used-by date. Return the product to the store where it was purchased for a full refund. You may also contact Once Upon a Farm directly at 1-888-983-1606 (Monday–Friday, 6:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. PST; Saturday, 8:00–11:00 a.m. PST) or by email at care@onceuponafarm.com. If your child experienced a choking episode or airway obstruction after eating these bars, seek medical evaluation and document the incident — the medical record will be important if you pursue a legal claim.
References
1. https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/once-upon-farm-recalls-all-lots-and-varieties-tractor-wheels-organic-toddler-soft-baked-bars-due
2. https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/soft-baked-cookie-bars-designed-toddlers-recalled-over-choking-hazard
3. https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2026/10/reports-of-infants-choking-result-in-fda-warning-about-once-upon-a-time-snacks/