Chick-fil-A chicken causing stomach issues, claim social media users — Has there been a change to quality standards?

American fast food chain Chick-fil-A has long built a reputation around its chicken servings, but a recent change has seemingly sparked controversy among its loyal customers.

Posts and videos have emerged on social media, with users claiming that Chick-fil-A's chicken, over the past few months, had felt "heavier" and "harsher" on the stomach than earlier, making it more difficult to digest.

What are social media users claiming?

In a viral video, a social media user claimed that he and his wife's stomachs had been "torn up" after eating from Chick-fil-A, and asked others whether they had experienced any issues.

The post received over 1,400 comments, with many reporting issues after eating from the fast food chain recently.

"My experience is that it used to be consistently good, now it’s consistently bad with the chick-fil-a sandwich having lower quality chicken, large gristle pieces that run through it, nuggets too, I don’t even care to go there anymore, higher prices, lower quality," wrote one user.

"This happened to me too!!! Seasoning was different as well on the spicy chicken sandwich. Within 10 mins I was a nuke (sic)," said another netizen.

Another user added," Yeah it’s trash now. I quit going this year tbh. As bad as McDonald’s now imo. And zaxbys? Even my cars won’t eat it. (sic)"

One netizen even claimed that he had to get his appendix removed because of a Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich, adding, "...a lot of people from my work can back this up."

Several other netizens reported having faced issues with Chick-fil-A's chicken, while another reported feeling stomach issues as recently as 21 December 2025.

"I read on here that Chic-Fila-A chicken has been affecting people's stomachs after eating it due to possible change in their chicken. I never paid attention until today. I had it last night, and now my stomach doesn't feel right. Let's just say I won't be eating there again," wrote the user, also noting a change in the chicken.

Has Chick-fil-A chicken changed?

Technically, yes, but there's no direct evidence linking Chick-fil-A chicken to digestive issues.

Chick-fil-A, up until early 2024, used to serve No Antibiotics Ever (NAE) chicken.

However, in spring 2024, the fast food company, as per its website, transitioned to serving Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine (NAIHM) chicken across all its US, Canada, and Puerto Rico restaurants, citing difficulties in maintaining steady supply of the harder-to-get NAE chicken.

The difference between the two standards is that the latter allows for the use of animal-specific antibiotics if chickens get sick while completely restricting the use of antibiotics meant for humans.

This change in the standard of chicken being served, The Street reported, had not been publicly announced but rather uploaded as a press release to the Chick-fil-A website, leaving many customers unaware of the change.

That said, standards are strictly controlled by the USDA to prevent the spread of foodborne diseases, and NHAIM chicken is safe to consume from a regulatory standpoint.

When Chick-fil-A made the change, health experts said that it posed minimal risk to humans.

"[The] term [NHAIM] reflects producers’ ability to use antibiotics that we don’t use in human medicine and appear to pose a minimal risk of selecting for bacteria that are resistant to drug. Therefore, [it] poses a pretty low risk to human health from the perspective of microbial resistance," George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health Professor Lance Price told Health.

"The more you use [antibiotics], the more [likely] that the bacteria will become resistant to those antibiotics, which can spread to people and cause drug-resistant infections," explained Northeastern University College of Professional Studies Professor Darin Detwiler, speaking to the publication.