Chicco Recall of Preschool Toys

NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Office of Information and Public Affairs

Washington, DC 20207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Originally issued July 2, 2001
Revised July 29, 2003
Release # 01-182

Ccompany Phone Number: (877) 424-4226
CPSC Consumer Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: Nychelle Fleming, (301) 504-7063
Chicco Contact: Elizabeth Orlowsky, (866) 242-0643

Note: telephone number change.

CPSC, Chicco USA Inc. Announce Recall of Preschool Toys

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Chicco USA Inc., of Bound Brook, N.J., is voluntarily recalling about 6,000 Build-A-Ball preschool toys. The Build-A-Ball toy consists of five multi-colored and various-sized plastic balls that can be taken apart to be stacked on top of each other or placed inside each other. Some of the larger-sized ball halves can become stuck on a young child's face, covering the nose and mouth, and causing suffocation.

CPSC received a report of a 2-year-old boy who had a ball-half stuck on his face, covering his nose and mouth. A nearby adult was able to pull the toy from his face. No injury to the child was reported.

The five balls in the toy set range in size from about 2-inches to 4-inches in diameter. One-half of the balls are white, green, blue, red or yellow, and the other half is clear. "chicco" is written inside the balls. The balls are packaged in a box labeled "chicco," "Build-a-Ball," "Cod. 66167," and "Made in China." The packaging also indicated the toy is for children ages 1-3 years or 1-4 years. The text on the packaging is written in 11 languages.

Amazon.com, Army & Air Force Exchanges and other toy stores nationwide sold these toys from January 1999 through April 2001 for about $6.

Parents and caregivers should take these balls away from young children immediately and return the toys to the store where purchased for a refund. For more information, consumers should call Chicco USA Inc., toll-free at (877) 424-4226 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the company's web site www.chiccousa.com.

Consumers can also view a video clip (transcript) about this recall. This is in "streaming video" format.

Picture of Recalled Build-A-Ball Preschool Toy