 In 2019, Atala and his institute were accused of misappropriating the name "Cerrado vanilla" by registering it as a commercial name at the Brazilian Institute for Industrial Property (INPI), without prior consultation to rural communities who traditionally use the ingredient in their food cultures .In 2020, Atala was accused of sexual harrasement by a former employee .Alex Atala has appeared in Chef's Table Season 2, Episode 2.