FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2001
Release # 01-110 |
CPSC Consumer Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: Kim Dulic, (301) 504-7058
|
CPSC, Eight Firms Announce the Recall of Zapper Toys
WASHINGTON, D.C.- In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), eight firms are voluntarily recalling about 835,000 Zapper toys. The following firms distributed these toys: Bonita Marie International Inc., of Manasquan, N.J.; Dillon Importing Co., of Oklahoma City, Okla.; Oriental Trading Co. Inc., of Omaha, Neb.; Play By Play Toys & Novelties Inc., of San Antonio, Texas; Rhode Island Novelty, of Johnston, R.I.; Sherman Specialty Co. Inc., of Merrick, N.Y.; Toy Investment Inc., of Kent, Wash.; and U.S. Toy Co. Inc., of Grandview, Mo. The balloon tongues and the cylinders holding the tongues on these toys can detach, posing a choking and aspiration hazard to young children.
The Promotional Resources Group of Companies Inc., of Topeka, Kan., previously recalled about 105,000 Bug Zapper toys on June 6, 2000. That company received a report of a 3-year-old boy who inhaled a balloon tongue that detached from a Zapper toy into his sinus cavity. He required medical treatment to remove the part from his nose.
The vinyl Zapper toys are about 2- to 3-inches long, and come in 12 different styles: smiley face, globe with glasses, troll, bumble bee, lion, bear, tiger, raspberry face, fish, frog, snake, and lizard. When the toy is squeezed, the balloon tongue attached to its mouth inflates or rolls out. "CHINA" or "MADE IN CHINA" is molded into the toy.
Toy stores, doctor and dentist offices, and carnivals and circuses sold and distributed these toys from October 1998 through March 2001. They were sold for about $1.
Consumers should immediately take these toys away from young children and take them back to where they were purchased for a refund, or throw them away. If consumers have questions, call CPSC at (800) 638- 2772 anytime.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about your experience with the product on SaferProducts.gov
CPSC is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $900 billion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals - contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.
Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain news release and recall information at www.cpsc.gov, on Twitter @OnSafety or by subscribing to CPSC's free e-mail newsletters.