(CBS / AP) WASHINGTON—Mattel Inc. is recalling 4.4 million Polly Pocket
magnetic play sets after three children were hospitalized with serious
injuries from swallowing tiny magnets that fell off the toys, the
Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Tuesday.
Polly Pockets are the best-selling miniature dolls in the world.
As
the holiday gift-buying season approaches, the commission is urging
shoppers to avoid buying toy sets with small magnets for children under
age 6. Gift buyers also should check the toy labels, select
age-appropriate toys and avoid gifts with sharp edges and small parts.
The
commission said it received 170 reports of the small magnets falling
out of or from the dolls and accessories in the Polly Pocket sets. Each
of the three injured children swallowed more than one magnet and
suffered intestinal perforation that required surgery.
Sara
Rosales, vice president of communications at Mattel, said the company
is working with others in the toy industry, consumer advocates and the
government "to make appropriate revisions to the U.S. toy standard to
prevent such issues in the future," Rosales said.
The
Polly Pocket play sets contain plastic dolls and accessories featuring
small magnets measuring 1/8 inch in diameter. The magnets are embedded
in the hands and feet of the dolls, plastic clothing, hair pieces and
other accessories that attach to the dolls.
But students at Saint Peter's school in South Philadelphia play safely with wooden blocks and plastic animals at playtime.
"If
more than one magnet comes together in an intestinal tract it can come
together as a mass or it can travel separately," said Julie Vallese of
the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The
Consumer Product Safety Commission says if those separate magnets
attract they can cause an intestinal perforation which is what three
children suffered after each swallowed more than one magnet that fell
out of the dolls or accessories.
There
have been 170 reports of small magnets falling out of the Polly Pocket
toys. Eight different playsets are part of the recall.
The
recall applies to about 2.4 million sets that were manufactured before
April 1, 2005 and sold at department stores and toy stores in the
United States from May 2003 through September 2006. They cost between
$15 and $30. It also affects another 2 million Polly Pocket play sets
were sold worldwide.
Tuesday's recall does not include sets currently on store shelves.
The
recalled Polly Pocket brand sets include: Polly Place Hangin' Out
House, Polly Place Treetop Clubhouse, Spa Day, Quik-Clik Boutique,
Quik-Clik City Pretty Playset, Quik-Clik Sporty Style Playset and
Totally Zen Playset. Polly Totally brand Polly Place Totally Tiki Diner
sets are also being recalled.
The
commission said consumers should contact Mattel to arrange for the
return of the toy and to receive a voucher for a replacement toy. For
more information about the recall, contact Mattel at 888-597-6597 or
visit http://www.service.mattel.com or http://www.cpsc.gov.
Last
March, another toy company, Mega Brands Inc., recalled 3.8 million
Magnetix magnetic building sets after one child died and four others
were seriously injured after swallowing tiny magnets in them.
Amina
Fazullah from the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research group
demonstrates the power of tiny magnets in a toy called Magnetix.
"It's
trying to attract through bone and it's a lot softer inside of your
stomach so it punches through intestines," said Fazullah.
Some parents out shopping Tuesday say they'll look more closely at the toys they're buying.
"I
didn't even know they had nothing on the market that had anything to do
magnets because I definitely wouldn't get that," said parent Carmen
Graham.
"I think the manufacturer didn't dig deep enough into the product they were producing," said parent Dawn Mobley.
It's never a bad idea for parents to do their own digging.
In
2005, there were 20 toy-related deaths and 152,400 toy-related injuries
involving children under age 15. The majority of injuries were
sustained from riding toys.
DETAILS ON PLAY SETS BEING RECALLED:
Polly Pocket Magnetic Play Sets Model
Polly Pocket! Polly Place Hangin’ Out House B2632
Polly Pocket! Polly Place Treetop Clubhouse B3158
Polly Pocket! Spa Day B3201
