Recall: Bungee Baby Bouncer Recalled by E and I

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 25, 1999 Release # 99-115	Company Phone Number: (800) 853-6001 CPSC Consumer Hotline: (800) 638-2772 CPSC Media Contact: Nychelle Fleming, (301) 504-7063

CPSC, E and I Inc. Announce Recall of Bungee Baby Bouncer

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), E and I Inc., of Bancroft, Idaho, is recalling about 4,000 Bungee Baby Bouncers. The device allows a baby to bounce while supported in a harness or "belly band" by an elastic "bungee cord," suspended from a doorway. Knots tied in the black rope that supports the bouncer can unravel, causing the baby to fall.

CPSC and E and I Inc. have received six reports of knots failing. In four of these incidents, babies bumped their heads from falls.

The Bungee Baby Bouncer includes a purple harness, a clamp that attaches to the doorway frame, two wooden dowels measuring 15.5 inches and 3.875 inches long, a rope and a purple elastic bungee cord. "E and I's BUNGEE BABY BOUNCER" is written on the harness, and "BUNGEE BABY BOUNCER" is written on the doorway clamp. The product's safety precautions advise the bouncer is to be used for babies approximately 4 months old to walking age, and for babies not heavier than 25 pounds.

Chelsea and Scott's One Step Ahead catalogs, and baby specialty retailers in Utah and Idaho sold the bouncers from September 1998 through March 1999 for between $35 and $40.

Consumers should immediately stop using their Bungee Baby Bouncer, and return only the bungee assembly to E and I Inc. for a free repair. Consumers will be reimbursed postage charges. Consumers can send their bungee assembly to: E and I Inc., P.O. Box 66, Bancroft ID 83217-0066. For more information, consumers should call E and I Inc. at (800) 853-6001 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. MDT Monday through Friday.

The metal hook that attaches to the doorway clamp can break, however, a safety cable prevents the bouncer from falling. The company also is replacing these metal hooks as part of this repair.