In Wake of Second Death recall
In Wake of Second Death, CPSC and Burger King Again Urge Consumers to Destroy and Discard Pokemon Balls
Why was In Wake of Second Death recalled?
The balls pose a suffocation hazard to children under three years of age.
What should I do if I have this product?
Consumers should immediately take the balls away from children under the age of three. They should discard the ball or return both halves of the ball and the clip to a Burger King restaurant for a free order of small fries. Children can continue to use the Pokémon toy that came inside the ball. Contact: Burger King's Consumer Relations phone number is 305-378-3535, which operates Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. east coast time.
What to do with a recalled product: refunds, receipts, safe disposal and how to report a problem.
Is my product affected?
Compare the item in your hand with every identifier below from the official CPSC record. Only products that match the listed product and identifiers are part of this recall.
- Product
- Pokémon balls distributed with Burger King kids meals
- Company
- Burger King Corporation
- Quantity
- More than 25 million
- Sold at
- Burger King restaurants nationwide distributed the Pokémon balls inside Burger King big kids meals and regular kids meals from early November through December 1999.
- Recall date
- January 27, 2000
- Incidents / injuries
- On January 25, 2000, a 4-month-old boy in Indianapolis, Ind., reportedly suffocated when one-half of a Pokémon ball that was in his crib became stuck on his face. In December, a 13-month-old girl reportedly suffocated when one-half of a Pokémon ball covered her nose and mouth. Also in December, an 18-month-old girl nearly suffocated when a ball-half got stuck over her face. On the second attempt, the girl's father was able to pull the ball-half from her face.
- Agency
- CPSC
Product description
Pokémon balls are plastic, ball-shaped containers between 2.75 and 3 inches in diameter. They pull apart to reveal one of 57 different Pokémon toys inside. The balls were distributed in a variety of colors including red and white, and hot pink. Packaging described them as safety tested and recommended for all ages of children.