The magnets can attract to one another once swallowed, which “can result in perforations, twisting and/or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning and death,” reads one of six notices issued Thursday.
One of the companies involved, Xpressgoods.com of Raleigh, N.C., agreed to recall about 728 units of the Chinese-manufactured ball sets. Customers are advised to return them for a full refund or store credit.
The other manufacturers have not agreed to a recall or offer any remedy to consumers. Four are based in China and one in South Korea. The products are:
- Magic QQ 216-Piece Mixed Color Magnetic Ball Sets
- Ming Tai Trade’s 216-piece 5mm Magnetic Ball Sets
- Sunny House 125-Piece 5mm mixed Color Magnet Ball Sets
- Allvre 216-Piece 5mm Magnetic Ball Sets
- Carrara Magnetic Ball Sets sold by myKmarket.com.
Regulators for years have tried to curb the sales of magnet toys that pose a threat to children who accidentally ingest them.
While the market for American-produced magnet sets is largely diminished, the CPSC has struggled to prevent foreign retailers from selling magnetic balls on sites like Amazon and Walmart, said Nancy Cowles, who sits on several voluntary standard committees as executive director of the advocacy group Kids in Danger.
“It’s a tough product to get rid of because they are almost all now coming from overseas, from who knows where,” Cowles said.
While the safety regulator can work to remove the listings, it’s unable to force foreign companies to issue recalls the way it can with U.S.-based sellers.
Eli Tan contributed to this story.
