Chick-fil-A, Inc. announced today an immediate voluntary removal of the “Planet Discovery” Kid’s Meal premium from its restaurants.
Included with the Atlanta-based chain’s Chick-fil-A® Nuggets Kid’s Meal, the premiums are replicas of the planets and can be attached to smooth surfaces via suction cups on the back of each piece. “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,” said Robinson. “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.”
“Because of the positive reputation and trust we have built with our Kid’s Meal customers, we are taking these extra precautionary steps with the voluntary removal of this particular premium,” said Steve Robinson, senior vice president of marketing for Chick-fil-A, Inc. Along with this public advisory, Chick-fil-A will post information on the premium removal in all of its participating restaurants.
In conjunction with its restaurant removal steps, Chick-fil-A will be notifying the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and has notified the manufacturer of its actions. Chick-fil-A has taken these actions despite the fact that independent testing laboratories have concluded that the Planet Discovery premium items and packaging comply with federal safety standards for children of all ages.
Chick-fil-A says all of its approximately 800 participating restaurants have been instructed to discontinue the use of the Planet Discovery Kid’s Meal premiums. “We are asking our customers to immediately discard or return any of the Planet items to our restaurants for a replacement premium,” said Robinson.
Chick-fil-A reports its restaurants started the inclusion of the individually wrapped Planet premiums in Kid’s Meals the first week of January and discontinued distribution earlier this week. During this approximate four-week period, approximately 1.5 million individual Planet Discovery toys were distributed. Individual packages include one large or two smaller Planet replicas. All of the suction cup attachments are identical.
In recent years, Chick-fil-A has been applauded by parents and school groups for developing its Kid’s Meal premiums under the theme of “Growing Kids Inside and Out” with a strategy of educational, character and value building themes primarily through the use of books and audio tapes. Last year, a leading restaurant industry publication, Restaurant Hospitality, named the Chick-fil-A Nuggets Kid’s Meal as its winner for “The Best Kids Menu In America.”
