“The strings can reach the back of children’s throat and become lodged, posing a serious risk of respiratory distress and deadly choking hazard,” per the recall
Credit: cpsc.gov
NEED TO KNOW
- GOPO Toys recalled over 70,000 pull string teething toys, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
- The CPSC said it was aware of three choking incidents involving the toy’s strings reaching children’s throats
- Customers are instructed to destroy the toy, document it and contact GOPO Toys for a full refund
A teething toy for babies and toddlers has been recalled.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a recall of GOPO Toys pull string teething toys on Thursday, June 18, due to “risk of serious injury or death from choking.”
The CPSC said that the recalled teething toys violate the mandatory standard for this kind of item because the “silicone strings are smaller and longer than permitted.”
Credit: cpsc.gov
This means that the strings could reach the back of a child’s throat and become lodged there, possibly causing “respiratory distress” and making it a “deadly choking hazard.”
As of June 18, the CPSC said that they have been made aware of three reported cases of the toy’s strings reaching the back of a child’s throat, which resulted in the child choking or having respiratory distress.
Credit: cpsc.gov
The teething toys are an off-white disc shape and have a grey ball in the center with six multi-colored, silicone tentacle-looking pull strings that run through the ball and seven soft push buttons, according to a description of the product.
The brand name along with “Pull String Toy” is printed on the front of the product packaging, and have the batch numbers 250905, 250530, 250120, 240315, 231005 or 230610 printed on the back of packaging.
The recall is for more than 70,000 units of the product sold online on Amazon from August 2023 through March 2026 for between $11 to $15, according to the CPSC.
The CPSC said that people who have purchased the product should take it away from children and stop using it “immediately.” They should then contact GOPO Toys to receive a full refund.
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In order to receive a refund, they will be asked to demolish “the toy by cutting all silicone strings” and then write “destroyed” on its body. They should then take a photo and send it to recalls@gopotoys.com before disposing the product.
This isn’t the first teething toy that has been recalled this year for the same hazard. In January, the Yetonamr Pull String Teething Toy, a Montessori sensory toy, was also recalled due to its “smaller than permitted” stings, which could become “lodged” in the throat and pose a risk of choking.
About 6,800 units of the toy were recalled after 32 choking incidents were reported to CPSC.
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