The Recall Desk
Our severity:SevereCPSC·13112·Announced 2013-01-31

SCS Direct Recalls Magnet Balls Due to Ingestion and Injury Risk

SCS Direct is recalling Magnet Balls sets sold on Amazon.com because swallowed magnets can cause serious intestinal injuries.

What this means for you

Our assessment, not the agency’s: severity 4/5 (Severe).

The hazard poses a serious risk of illness, injury, or structural failure. Stop using the product immediately and contact the manufacturer for a refund or repair.

Our severity reasoning: The hazard involves a risk of serious injury or death from intestinal perforation and sepsis, and CPSC reports 79 instances of medical intervention for similar high-powered magnet ingestion, meeting the criteria for significant injury reports.

Plain-English summary

SCS Direct Inc. is recalling Magnet Balls® Manipulative Magnet Sets, which are interactive puzzle sets containing 216 high-powered, 5mm spherical magnets. The affected products were sold exclusively on Amazon.com from August 2010 through May 2012 for approximately $20. The recall covers about 106,000 units of the Original and Rainbow Bright sets, which were packaged in cylindrical silver tins.

The recall is being issued because when two or more magnets are swallowed, they can link together inside a child's intestines and clamp onto body tissues. This can cause intestinal obstructions, perforations, sepsis, and death. While no incidents or injuries have been reported to SCS Direct, the CPSC has received 80 reports of incidents involving the ingestion of other high-powered magnets, resulting in 79 reports seeking medical intervention.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled magnets and contact SCS Direct for instructions on returning the product for a $20 store credit. The company can be reached toll-free at (888) 749-1387 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or by email at [email protected].

The recalled product

Product
Magnet Balls® Manipulative Magnet Sets
Manufacturer
SCS Direct Inc., of Stratford, Conn.
Category
Consumer Product — Toys
Hazard
Affected units
106,000

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

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