Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Recall, FDA Warns of Potentially Fatal Choking Hazard in All Flavors

Parents who bought Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Organic Toddler Soft-Baked Bars should stop serving them. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an advisory on October 30, 2026, after receiving reports of toddlers suffering complete airway obstruction after eating the product.

The warning covers every flavor, package size, lot code and expiration date of Tractor Wheels. No production date or batch number lets a consumer rule out a package.

The FDA says the bars can form a dry, sticky mass when chewed. That mass may be hard to dislodge, even with standard choking responses such as back blows and the Heimlich maneuver. Some reported incidents required emergency response and hospital observation.

Once Upon a Farm, PBC announced a voluntary recall and reformulation on October 30, 2026. The company says its decision followed three consumer complaints. The FDA describes several reports of complete airway obstruction in toddlers. The FDA’s advisory does not announce a confirmed death.

The company is offering a full refund through the retailer where the product was bought or through its customer-care email.

Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Recall: Quick Facts

Detail	Information
Company	Once Upon a Farm, PBC
Recalled product	Tractor Wheels Organic Toddler Soft-Baked Bars
FDA advisory date	October 30, 2026
Company recall	Voluntary recall and reformulation announced October 30, 2026
Hazard	Potentially fatal choking hazard (physical hazard, not contamination)
Children in FDA reports	Toddlers about 1.5 to 2.5 years old
Company-reported complaints	Three consumer complaints
FDA-reported incidents	Several reports of complete airway obstruction
Affected flavors	Apple, Sweet Potato & Spinach; Strawberry, Pumpkin & Beet; Banana, Pumpkin & Cauliflower
Lot codes, dates, sizes	All
Stores named by FDA	Costco, Target, Walmart
Other possible sellers	Amazon and other third-party vendors
Distribution	Nationwide online and retail; company lists 45 states and Puerto Rico
Refund	Full refund through retailer or company customer care
Customer-care email and phone	[email protected]; 888-983-1606
Official FDA advisory	FDA: Do not buy or serve Tractor Wheels
Official company recall page	Once Upon a Farm recall FAQ and refund instructions
Lawsuit or settlement	None specific to this recall identified as of November 1, 2026

Which Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Flavors Are Recalled?

Recalled flavor	Product name
1	Apple, Sweet Potato, & Spinach Tractor Wheels
2	Strawberry, Pumpkin, & Beet Tractor Wheels
3	Banana, Pumpkin & Cauliflower Tractor Wheels

The warning applies to all quantities and varieties. It is not limited to one manufacturing date, facility, expiration month, lot number, package count or retailer. If a package is labeled Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Organic Toddler Soft-Baked Bars, it is covered.

Are other Once Upon a Farm products recalled?

No. The company’s announcement says no other Once Upon a Farm products are affected. The company also sells refrigerated pouches, frozen meals and other snacks, and those are not part of this recall.

Which Publix Product Identifiers Are Listed for the Tractor Wheels Recall?

Publix published a notice listing five Tractor Wheels identifiers. They help Publix shoppers, but they do not narrow the FDA’s all-products warning.

Publix-listed identifier	Product	Package size
81000351293	Strawberry, Pumpkin & Beet Tractor Wheels	10-count box
81000351261	Strawberry, Pumpkin & Beet Tractor Wheels	5-count box
81000351262	Banana, Pumpkin & Cauliflower Tractor Wheels	5-count box
81000351284	Apple, Sweet Potato & Spinach Tractor Wheels	10-count box
81000351260	Apple, Sweet Potato & Spinach Tractor Wheels	5-count box

These are not a complete national list of every barcode or package format.

Why Did the FDA Warn Parents About Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels?

The FDA received several reports of toddlers about 1.5 to 2.5 years old suffering complete airway obstruction after eating the bars. According to the agency, the product forms a dry, sticky mass when chewed. The concern is not only that a child could swallow an oversized piece. The reported mass can block the airway and may resist standard choking interventions.

The FDA said it informed the company of the adverse-event reports and recommended that it recall the product.

How many children were affected by the Tractor Wheels choking reports?

The company cited three recent consumer complaints. The FDA separately cited several reports. Neither has published a case-by-case account. The public record does not establish the children’s identities, the exact number of incidents or hospitalizations, any permanent injury, whether every report was a separate incident, or whether any death occurred.

The FDA called the product a “potentially fatal choking hazard,” which describes the seriousness of the risk rather than a confirmed death.

Why is the age range important?

Once Upon a Farm markets Tractor Wheels as a toddler snack for children 12 months and older, and describes the bars as soft and easy to dissolve while chewing. The FDA’s reports involve toddlers within that intended age range. That does not by itself show a regulatory violation or that every child who ate the bars would choke, but it explains why the FDA issued a broad warning.

Where Were Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Sold?

The FDA says the bars were sold nationwide online and in stores including Costco, Target and Walmart, and may also have been sold through Amazon.com and other third-party vendors. Publix has published its own recall notice.

The company’s announcement lists distribution in 45 states and Puerto Rico: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin, plus Puerto Rico. The FDA separately describes distribution as nationwide, so consumers in any state should check their packages.

Consumers who bought online, including directly from Once Upon a Farm or through marketplaces, are covered too.

What Should Parents Do If They Have Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels at Home?

The FDA’s instructions are to not buy or serve the bars and to throw away any packages. The company likewise tells consumers not to use the product.

• Do not open a package to inspect or test the bars.
• Keep the bars out of children’s reach while arranging a refund.
• If a child ate the bars and has symptoms, contact a healthcare provider and say the child ate recalled Tractor Wheels.
• If a child is choking and first aid does not clear the obstruction, call 911 immediately.
• Parents and caregivers can consider taking a pediatric first-aid and choking-response course, such as those offered by the American Red Cross.
• Report problems through the FDA’s Human Foods Program assistance page.

How Can You Get a Refund for Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels?

Once Upon a Farm says customers can get a full refund in either of two ways:

1. Return the product to the retailer where it was purchased.
2. Email customer care at [email protected].

The company’s FAQ says customer-care representatives aim to respond within five business days, asks customers to allow up to five business days for a refund, and says it will send an email confirmation when the refund is issued.

Contact method	Details
Email	[email protected]
Phone	888-983-1606
Text/SMS	415-233-7672
Hours	Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Pacific

The phone number comes from the company’s general contact page, while the recall FAQ identifies the email and retailer-return routes.

Do you need a receipt? The public FAQ does not clearly say a receipt is required for every route. Anyone without a receipt should contact the retailer or the company before assuming a refund is unavailable.

The refund covers the purchase price only. It is not a personal-injury compensation program.

Is the Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Recall a Contamination Recall?

No. The FDA’s stated concern is a physical choking hazard. The advisory does not identify bacteria, an undeclared allergen, a chemical contaminant or a foreign object as the cause. The risk is the way the bars reportedly behave when chewed.

Why Did Once Upon a Farm Announce a Voluntary Recall and Reformulation?

The company said it decided to recall all Tractor Wheels after three recent consumer complaints involving a potential choking hazard, and that it is working with the FDA to remove the product. It has not publicly explained which ingredients or processes will change, whether the shape, texture or age recommendation will differ, when a new version could return, or whether the FDA has reviewed a replacement formula. Parents should not assume a reformulated product is on shelves.

What Federal Law Governs the Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Recall?

The FDA’s advisory versus the company’s recall. The FDA published a consumer advisory telling people not to buy or serve the bars and told retailers not to sell them. The recall itself is voluntary, announced by the company after the FDA communicated the adverse-event reports. The FDA has not announced a mandatory recall order.

Federal law gives the FDA several tools in food-safety cases:

• Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.): Section 402(a)(1) (21 U.S.C. § 342(a)(1)) treats food as adulterated if it may be injurious to health. Section 301 (21 U.S.C. § 331) prohibits introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. Whether the FDA would apply these provisions to Tractor Wheels has not been announced, and no enforcement action has been reported.
• Mandatory recall authority (21 U.S.C. § 350l): Under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the FDA may order a recall if there is a reasonable probability that a food will cause serious adverse health consequences or death and the company does not recall voluntarily. The FDA has not announced use of this authority here.
• Reportable Food Registry (21 U.S.C. § 350f): Companies and certain facilities must report to the FDA, generally within 24 hours, when there is a reasonable probability a food will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.
• Recall classification (21 C.F.R. Part 7): The FDA classifies recalls by health risk. A Class I recall applies where there is a reasonable probability that using the product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death (21 C.F.R. § 7.3(m)(1)). The sources reviewed did not show a published classification for this recall, so check the FDA’s recall database for updates.

Could Once Upon a Farm Face a Product Liability Lawsuit?

A recall does not automatically make a company legally responsible for every reported injury. Product-injury law is mostly state law, so the rules depend on where the child was injured. Possible legal theories include:

• Design defect: The product’s design created an unreasonable risk when used as intended or in a foreseeable way (see Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability § 2).
• Manufacturing defect: A product or batch departed from its intended design and became unsafe.
• Failure to warn: The company did not adequately warn of a known or foreseeable hazard.
• Negligence: The company did not use reasonable care in design, testing, manufacturing, marketing or recall.
• Breach of implied warranty of merchantability (UCC § 2-314, as adopted by each state): The product was not fit for its ordinary purpose.

Families would need evidence linking the product to the injury. The FDA advisory and recall could be relevant evidence but do not prove liability by themselves.

Time limits. Personal-injury statutes of limitations vary by state and are often one to six years. Many states pause or extend the deadline for injured minors, but that varies, so a family should speak with a lawyer licensed in its state soon rather than assuming more time.

Economic-loss claims. Consumers who only want money back for the purchase price may have remedies under state consumer-protection laws, such as California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act (Cal. Civ. Code § 1750 et seq.) and Unfair Competition Law (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 et seq.), which may apply to a California-based company. Whether any claim would succeed depends on the facts, and the company is already offering refunds.

What if a child choked but recovered?

Families may want to keep medical and emergency-response records, purchase information, photos of the packaging and the product’s label details. Do not leave a dangerous product within a child’s reach just to preserve evidence. Ask a lawyer about safe ways to document it.

Does the refund cover medical bills or injuries?

No. The refund is a purchase-price remedy. It is not a settlement fund or an admission that the company will cover medical expenses.

Is There an Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Class Action or Settlement?

As of November 1, 2026, no class action, personal-injury lawsuit or settlement specific to the Tractor Wheels recall was identified. There is no court-approved class, claims administrator, claim form or litigation deadline.

In the federal system, a multi-state consumer class action could be filed under the Class Action Fairness Act (28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)), but none has been reported for this recall. An injured family can still explore an individual claim.

AllAboutLawyer has covered other children’s-product litigation, including the ByHeart Infant Formula Class Action, Botulism Outbreak Lawsuits Consolidated Are You Affected?, the Target Nara Organics Lawsuit, Was Your Baby Affected? — Nam v. Nara Organics Inc., No. 3:26-cv-05825 and the Target Up&Up Baby Wipes Lawsuit, Were You Affected? — Finek et al. v. Target Corporation, No. 1:26-cv-06966. These involve different products and legal proceedings. None is a lawsuit against Once Upon a Farm or a claim process for this recall.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Recall

Is Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels recalled?

Yes. Once Upon a Farm announced a voluntary recall on October 30, 2026, after the FDA warned consumers not to buy or serve the bars because of a potentially fatal choking hazard.

Which Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels flavors are recalled?

All three: Apple, Sweet Potato & Spinach; Strawberry, Pumpkin & Beet; and Banana, Pumpkin & Cauliflower.

Are all Tractor Wheels lot numbers and expiration dates affected?

Yes. The FDA warning covers every lot code and expiration date.

Are Tractor Wheels 5-count and 10-count boxes affected?

Yes. The warning covers all quantities and varieties.

Were Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels sold at Costco, Target and Walmart?

Yes. The FDA names those three stores and says the bars may also have been sold on Amazon and through other third-party vendors.

Why is Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels dangerous?

The FDA says toddlers suffered complete airway obstruction after eating the bars, which reportedly form a dry, sticky mass when chewed that may be hard to dislodge.

How old were the children in the Tractor Wheels choking reports?

About 1.5 to 2.5 years old, according to the FDA.

Were children hospitalized after eating Tractor Wheels?

The FDA says some incidents required emergency response and hospital observation. It has not published a full case-by-case account.

Did the FDA report a death linked to Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels?

No. The FDA describes a potentially fatal hazard, but its October 30 advisory does not announce a confirmed death.

What should I do with Tractor Wheels bars at home?

Do not open, use or serve them. Throw them away as the FDA advises or return them for a refund, and keep them away from children in the meantime.

How do I get a Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels refund?

Return the product to the retailer or email [email protected]. The company is offering a full refund.

How long does the Tractor Wheels refund take?

The company asks customers to allow up to five business days and says it will send an email confirmation.

Are other Once Upon a Farm products recalled?

No. The company says no other Once Upon a Farm products are affected.

Is there a class action against Once Upon a Farm over Tractor Wheels?

None had been identified as of November 1, 2026.

Can a parent sue Once Upon a Farm if a child was injured?

Potentially, under state product-liability or negligence law, depending on the evidence and injury. A recall alone does not establish liability, and deadlines vary by state, so speak with a lawyer promptly.

Official Sources and Recall Information

1. FDA, Advises Consumers Not to Buy or Serve Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Organic Toddler Soft-Baked Bars, October 30, 2026
2. Once Upon a Farm, Recall and Reformulation Announcement, October 30, 2026
3. Once Upon a Farm, Official Recall FAQ and Refund Instructions
4. Once Upon a Farm, Customer Care Contact Information
5. Publix, Once Upon a Farm Tractor Wheels Recall and Product Identifiers
6. FDA, Get Assistance From the Human Foods Program and Report a Food Problem
7. Also referenced: 21 U.S.C. §§ 331, 342, 350f and 350l; 21 C.F.R. Part 7; 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d); Cal. Civ. Code § 1750 et seq.; Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 et seq.; UCC § 2-314; Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability § 2.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal or medical advice. The recall and FDA advisory are current as of November 1, 2026. The statements describe reported choking incidents and do not establish that every package or every child who ate the product was harmed.

Researched and written by Israr Ahmad, legal content researcher and founder of AllAboutLawyer.com. All facts verified against the official FDA advisory, the Once Upon a Farm recall announcement and FAQ and Publix’s recall notice (fda.gov, onceuponafarmorganics.com, corporate.publix.com), as of November 1, 2026. Last Updated: November 1, 2026.