Once Upon a Farm Recalls Tractor Wheels Toddler Bars

Once Upon a Farm has voluntarily recalled its Tractor Wheels Organic Toddler Soft-Baked Bars and says it will reformulate them, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned on October 30, 2026, that the bars pose a potentially fatal choking hazard for toddlers. The company says its recall decision was based on three consumer complaints, covers three named flavors, and offers parents a full refund.

What we know / What we don’t know

What we know:

• The FDA issued a safety advisory on October 30, 2026, telling consumers not to buy or serve the bars and to throw them away right away.
• The FDA says it received several reports of toddlers ages 1.5 to 2.5 years suffering complete airway obstruction — meaning they could not breathe — after eating the product.
• The FDA says the bars can form a dry, sticky mass when chewed, and that standard choking first aid, including back blows and the Heimlich maneuver, may fail to dislodge it.
• Some reported choking incidents required emergency response and hospital observation, according to the FDA.
• The FDA warning applies to all flavors, quantities, and varieties, including all lot codes and expiration dates.
• Once Upon a Farm announced a voluntary recall on October 30, 2026, saying the decision was based on three consumer complaints and was made “out of an abundance of caution.” The company says it is working with the FDA and is reformulating the product.
• The company’s recall names three flavors: Apple, Sweet Potato, & Spinach; Strawberry, Pumpkin, & Beet; and Banana, Pumpkin & Cauliflower.
• The company says no other Once Upon a Farm products are impacted by this recall.
• The company says consumers should not open the package or use the contents, and can return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund or contact care@uponafarm.com.
• The bars are sold across the country online and in stores, including Costco, Target, and Walmart, and may also be sold through Amazon and other third-party sellers, according to the FDA. The company says the product was distributed nationwide via the internet and to stores in 45 states and Puerto Rico.
• Food Safety News, an independent food-safety news outlet, reported the FDA warning on October 30, 2026, confirming the product, the age range, and the FDA’s advice.

What we don’t know:

• The FDA has not published an exact number of choking reports, and it has not named individual cases. The company’s figure of three complaints is the company’s own count for its recall decision; the FDA refers to “several reports.”
• The company’s recall announcement does not list lot codes or UPC numbers. The FDA’s warning covers all lot codes and expiration dates, so parents do not need a lot number to act.
• The company has not given a date for when a reformulated version of the bars might return to shelves.
• The FDA has not said whether any other Once Upon a Farm products are affected. Both the FDA advisory and the company announcement name only the Tractor Wheels Organic Toddler Soft-Baked Bars.

Key facts

• Product: Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Organic Toddler Soft-Baked Bars
• Scope (FDA): All flavors, quantities, and varieties, including all lot codes and expiration dates
• Flavors named in the company recall: Apple, Sweet Potato, & Spinach; Strawberry, Pumpkin, & Beet; Banana, Pumpkin & Cauliflower
• Ages in FDA reports: Toddlers ages 1.5 to 2.5 years
• Hazard described by the FDA: Potentially fatal choking hazard; dry, sticky mass that standard choking interventions may fail to dislodge
• FDA advice to consumers: Do not buy or serve the product; throw it away immediately
• FDA advice to retailers: Do not sell the product
• Company action: Voluntary recall and reformulation announced October 30, 2026; based on three consumer complaints
• Refund / return: Company: do not open the package; return to the place of purchase for a full refund, or contact care@uponafarm.com
• Other products: Company says no other Once Upon a Farm products are impacted
• Where sold, per the FDA: Nationwide online and in stores, including Costco, Target, and Walmart; possibly Amazon and other third-party sellers
• FDA advisory date: October 30, 2026

What the FDA said

The FDA’s message is short and direct: do not buy or serve these bars. In its advisory, the agency says consumers should throw the product away right away, and retailers should stop selling it.

The reason, as the FDA describes it, is about texture. When chewed, the product reportedly forms a dry, sticky mass. The FDA says that mass can block a small child’s airway completely, and that standard steps to clear a blocked airway — back blows and the Heimlich maneuver — may not work on it. Some of the reported incidents, the FDA says, needed emergency help and hospital observation.

That detail matters for parents because it changes the usual advice. Most choking guidance assumes that first aid can clear the blockage. Here, the FDA is warning that it may not. The agency also says to call 9-1-1 if someone is choking and other first aid steps to remove the blockage have failed.

To be clear: the FDA did not say every child who eats the bars will choke, and it did not give an exact count of reports. This article adds no number the FDA did not publish.

What the company said

Once Upon a Farm announced the voluntary recall on the evening of October 30, 2026, in a company statement issued through Business Wire. The Berkeley, California company says it is initiating the recall because of a potential choking hazard for toddlers ages 1.5 to 2.5, and that the decision was based on three consumer complaints.

“We acted out of an abundance of caution, in the best interest of our customers and our commitment to quality,” the company said, adding that it is working with the FDA “to make sure affected products are removed and families have the information they need.”

The announcement is titled “Recall and Reformulation,” which signals the company plans to change the product before it returns — but the statement gives no recipe details and no date for a relaunch. The company also addressed parents directly: “We know that parents place their trust in us every time they buy one of our products. We fell short of that, and that is why we are taking these aggressive actions.”

Which product is affected — and which is not

The warning is broad in one way and narrow in another. It is broad because the FDA covers all flavors, quantities, and varieties of this one product, including all lot codes and expiration dates. Parents do not need to check a lot number or a best-by date to decide what to do: if the box says Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Organic Toddler Soft-Baked Bars, the advice applies to it.

The company’s recall names the three flavors it sells: Apple, Sweet Potato, & Spinach; Strawberry, Pumpkin, & Beet; and Banana, Pumpkin & Cauliflower. The company also states clearly that no other Once Upon a Farm products are impacted by this recall. So if you have a different Once Upon a Farm snack, pouch, or meal in your pantry, neither the FDA warning nor the company recall covers it. If you are unsure whether a box in your home is the named product, check the full product name on the package and compare it with the FDA advisory linked in this article.

The bars are soft-baked toddler snacks made with whole-grain oats, fruit, and vegetables, shaped like small tractor wheels. None of that changes the advice: do not serve the named bars, whatever flavor or box size you have.

Where the bars are sold

According to the FDA, the product is sold across the country online and in stores, including Costco, Target, and Walmart, and may also be sold through Amazon and other third-party sellers. The company says the bars were distributed nationwide via the internet and to distribution centers and retail stores in 45 states and Puerto Rico. That wide availability is why this recall is worth acting on quickly: check the pantry, the diaper bag, the car, and a grandparent’s house, not just the kitchen shelf.

What to do if you have the bars at home

The steps are simple:

1. Do not serve the bars, and do not open the package. Do not give them to a toddler, and do not pass them on to another family. The company specifically says not to open the package or use the contents.
2. For a full refund, return the product to the place of purchase, as the company instructs — or contact the company at care@uponafarm.com. (The FDA’s original advice, issued before the company’s refund route was announced, was to throw the bars away immediately.)
3. Check every place you store snacks. Look in the pantry, the diaper bag, the car, and any bag you use for daycare or visits to family.
4. Tell other caregivers. If grandparents, babysitters, or daycare staff might have the bars, let them know about the FDA warning and the recall.
5. If a child is choking, call 9-1-1 if other first aid steps to remove the blockage have failed, as the FDA advises.

The FDA also says consumers who have symptoms should contact their health care provider, and that complaints or adverse events can be reported through the FDA’s Industry and Consumer Assistance page, which is linked from the advisory.

For a practical routine for checking your own pantry, see our guide on how to check if your kitchen is affected by a food recall.

What happens next

The recall is now announced, so the open questions have narrowed. First, the FDA says it will update its advisory as more information becomes available, so the page linked here is the best place to check for changes, including any formal recall listing with added product details. Second, the company says it is reformulating the product, but it has not said when a changed version might reach shelves — treat any return date you see elsewhere as unconfirmed until the company states one. Third, retailers are expected to remove the product from shelves and online listings and to handle returns at the place of purchase under the company’s full-refund offer.

This article will be updated if the FDA publishes more detail, if the scope changes, or if the company gives a reformulation timeline. Until then, the advice stands: do not buy, open, or serve these bars, and use the company’s refund route for any you still have.

Sources: FDA advisory, October 30, 2026; Once Upon a Farm recall and reformulation announcement via Business Wire, October 30, 2026; Food Safety News, October 30, 2026. Related recall coverage: Bodum French press recall.