A federal security company warned this week that small, highly effective magnets have been linked to seven deaths after they had been ingested, asserting one company’s voluntary recall of a toy set that contained such magnets and issuing warnings about six different firms with related toys.
The company, the U.S. Shopper Product Security Fee, stated on Thursday that it was conscious of seven deaths, together with two exterior of the USA, and about 2,400 emergency-room visits between 2017 and 2021 linked to ingesting the small, high-powered magnets.
The hazard is that they might simply connect with magnets or different steel objects, making them a good higher hazard if swallowed together with one other object. Even swallowed alone, the small magnetic balls pose a risk of perforation to or blockage of the intestines, blood poisoning or demise, the fee stated.
Final yr, the fee authorised a brand new security normal for small magnets, requiring that merchandise be both too giant to swallow or weak sufficient to cut back the danger of inside accidents when swallowed.
Throughout exams, the magnets, that are product of uncommon earth metals and measure 5 millimeters, or roughly the scale of a pea, match inside the fee’s small parts cylinder, which is roughly the scale of a totally expanded throat of a kid beneath 3.
At the very least seven firms this yr had been promoting merchandise that failed to satisfy the brand new normal. These firms weren’t linked to the deaths or accidents, stated Patty Davis, a fee spokeswoman.
The fee supplied no further details about the names of the businesses that made the merchandise linked to the deaths and accidents.
The fee examined the toys, a few of that are small, separate steel balls that may be sculpted into shapes, and located that the magnets had been too small, too sturdy or each, Ms. Davis stated.
“You probably have youngsters in your home, these may be lethal,” she stated.
One firm, XpressGoods of Raleigh, N.C., recalled and offered refunds for a set of colourful, small magnets it had bought as Neodymium Magic Magnetic Balls. The recall affected about 700 models bought on-line between July 2021 and Might 2022. The corporate couldn’t be reached for touch upon Friday.
The fee warned shoppers towards these different merchandise: SplishSplashFun’s SplishSplash Balls Reusable Water Balloons; MXN Commerce Inc.’s Carrara Magnet Ball Sets; Magic QQ’s 216-Piece Mixed Color Magnetic Ball Sets; Ming Tai Commerce’s 216-Piece 5mm Magnetic Ball Sets; Sunny Home’s 125-Piece 5mm Mixed Color Magnetic Ball Sets and Allvre’s 216-Piece 5mm Magnetic Ball Sets.
“These firms refused to do remembers so we’re going on to shoppers,” Ms. Davis stated. “It’s essential cease utilizing them instantly. Throw them away.”
SplishSplashFun’s web site was down and the corporate couldn’t be instantly reached. MXN Commerce Inc. didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. No contact data may very well be discovered for Magic QQ, Allvre or Ming Tai Commerce, all firms based mostly in China, in keeping with the fee.
On Temu, the favored Chinese language purchasing platform, Sunny Home’s merchandise web page was down on Friday.
Past issuing warnings to shoppers, the fee can sue or start a compulsory recall course of, however that may take years.
In 2021, the company enforced a mandatory recall of a toy set produced by Zen Magnets LLC after two kids required surgical procedure to take away ingested magnets that had been lodged so deeply that elements of their intestines and bowels needed to be eliminated.
