(WXIN) — A new chicken sandwich launched as part of Starbucks’ summer menu has flown the coop after customers claimed it gave them diarrhea, according to the New York Post.
Starbucks pulled the new Chicken Maple Butter and Egg Sandwich from its menu on June 27, less than a week after it was launched on June 21. Starbucks originally told Nexstar the sandwich would be a permanent menu addition.
The Post reports one TikToker revealed she tested positive for campylobacter after having the sandwich a few days before. Campylobacter infections are the most common bacterial cause of diarrheal illness in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bacteria is most commonly associated with raw chicken.
One person’s TikTok video said, “Suing for the worst diarrhea of my life. i have been living in my bathroom for 2 days now,” writes the Post.
Other people on social media complained of vomiting and stomach pain or said the sandwich was ice cold in the middle. Someone else said they bit into a bone.
The website iwaspoisoned.com, which tracks foodborne illness, logged five claims that the sandwich made customers feel ill, at least temporarily, according to NBC News.
A Starbucks spokesperson provided the following statement to Nexstar: “We issued a voluntary stop sell and discard on the Chicken, Maple Butter and Egg Sandwich because the product didn’t meet Starbucks quality standards. We are committed to a high level of quality in the products that we serve and always act with an abundance of caution whenever a product or quality issue is raised. This is not an FDA issued recall nor is it related to salmonella or listeria contamination. The quality issue that was identified by Starbucks would not lead to food borne illness and any reports linking the stop sale to illness are inaccurate. “