Small Magnetic Balls Sold by Walmart Recalled Over Choking Hazard - The Messenger
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Small Magnetic Balls Sold by Walmart Recalled Over Choking Hazard

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is aware of at least seven deaths linked to the ingestion of hazardous magnets

The recalled magnetic balls were sold on Walmart.com from February 2022 through April 2023 for about $15. Consumer Product Safety Commission

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday issued a recall for small, high-powered magnetic balls that were sold exclusively on Walmart.com over a potentially fatal ingestion hazard.

The CPSC recalled 4,240 units of "Relax 5mm Science Kit, Large Hematite Magnets Magnetic Stones Building Blocks" that were sold on Walmart.com from February 2022 through April 2023 for about $15.

The kits include 216 5mm magnetic balls that the CPSC says do not comply with federal magnet regulations. The balls fit in CPSC’s small parts cylinder, which approximates the size of a child's throat, and the magnets are stronger than authorized. 

If ingested, the high-powered magnets can attract to one another or to another metallic object, causing them to become lodged in the digestive system. This could lead to complications such as perforations, infections, blood poising, twisting or blockage of the intestines and death.

The CPSC estimates that there were 2,400 hospitalizations as a result of magnet ingestions from 2017 through 2021 and at least seven deaths.

Consumers affected by the recall can contact the toy's distributor, Joybuy, for a full refund.

Earlier this month the CPSC issued another recall for a similar product sold at Xpressgoods.com.

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