Recall: Chicco Recall of Preschool Toys

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.