The Recall Desk
CriticalCPSC·00058·Announced 2000-01-27

Pokémon Balls Recalled Due to Suffocation Deaths in Infants

CPSC and Burger King urge consumers to discard Pokémon balls from kids meals after two infant suffocation deaths and one near-suffocation incident.

What this means for you

Highest-severity recall. Risk of serious injury or death is documented or strongly suspected. Stop using the product now and follow the agency's instructions.

Our severity reasoning: The source text explicitly reports two infant deaths resulting from suffocation, which meets the rubric criterion for a Critical (5) severity score.

Plain-English summary

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Burger King are urging consumers to destroy and discard Pokémon balls distributed with Burger King kids meals. The recall follows reports of two infant deaths and one near-suffocation incident caused by the plastic ball halves becoming stuck on children's faces. The balls, which are 2.75 to 3 inches in diameter and contain small toys, were distributed in Burger King big kids meals and regular kids meals from early November through December 1999. More than 25 million units were distributed nationwide.

The hazard is suffocation for children under three years of age. On January 25, 2000, a 4-month-old boy in Indianapolis, Indiana, reportedly suffocated when one-half of a Pokémon ball became stuck on his face. In December 1999, a 13-month-old girl reportedly suffocated when a ball half covered her nose and mouth. Also in December 1999, an 18-month-old girl nearly suffocated when a ball half got stuck over her face; her father was able to remove it on the second attempt.

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. 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.

The recalled product

Product
Pokémon balls distributed with Burger King kids meals
Category
Consumer Product — Toys
Hazard
Affected units
25

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

Related recalls

Same hazard · suffocation

See all →