The Surprising Item That Starbucks Kicked To The Curb

One of the appeals of getting coffee at Starbucks is its consistency. According to Forbes, customers return to the Seattle-based company time and time again for the fast service and quality coffee. When this consistency is disrupted, however, customers are not a fan. In June 2021, the brand had issues sourcing 25 items on the menu due to issues with the supply chain (via Insider). 

According to Insider, hazelnut syrup, toffee nut syrup, chai tea bags, and green iced tea were among the most popular items facing a shortage, and customers voiced their concerns online. "[S]tarbucks is putting chai lattes on hold bc there is a shortage this is the worst day of my life," one customer tweeted. Kevin Johnson, president and CEO of Starbucks, told The New York Times earlier this year that the company expects these issues to "continue for the foreseeable future." The possibility of a mocha shortage generated discussion on Reddit earlier this year. But a recently discontinued menu item is taking center stage for now, for very different reasons (via Today).

Starbucks has officially lost the chicken sandwich wars. The coffee giant removed its new chicken, maple butter, and egg sandwich from the menu less than a week after it was introduced because it "did not meet Starbucks' quality standards" (via NY Post). Although the Seattle-based company claims that the sandwich was removed just as a precaution, people on the internet are claiming that it made them sick.

A Starbucks barista told Restaurant Dive that she had "extreme food poisoning symptoms" after trying the sandwich, so much so that she had to call in sick for the next three days. One Tiktoker posted that they felt sick after trying the sandwich and claimed salmonella was to blame. The comments are filled with other people with post chicken sandwich tummy troubles.

These posts on social media alleging that the sandwich made people sick are considered "unverified reports," according to Today, and Starbucks said in a statement that the quality issue in question is unrelated to possible food-borne illness. Even so, people on social media are suspicious, and it probably doesn't help that the coffee giant required stores to throw the sandwiches away and not donate them (via Restaurant Dive). It's safe to say that this chicken sandwich will not make the list of discontinued Starbucks items that need to make a comeback.