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WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2000
-- A second child has been suffocated by a Pokemon ball
container distibuted by Burger King.
T he U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
and Burger King Corp. are stepping up their recall efforts and
urging consumers to immediately destroy and discard the Pokemon
balls that were distributed with Burger King kids meals in November
and December 1999.
The latest death occurred on January 25, when a 4-month-old
boy in Indianapolis, Indiana, suffocated when half of a Pokemon
ball that was in his crib became stuck on his face.
In December, a 13-month old girl suffocated in a similar
incident. Also in December, an 18-month old girl nearly suffocated.
She was saved when her father managed after two attempts to
pull the ball half away from her face.
Pokemon balls are plastic, ball-shaped containers between
2.75 and 3 inches in diameter. They pull apart to reveal one
of 57 different Pokemon toys inside. The balls were distributed
in a variety of colors including red and white, and hot pink.
Packaging described them as safety tested and recommended
for all ages of children.
Burger King restaurants nationwide distributed the Pokemon
balls inside Burger King big kids meals and regular kids meals
from early November through December 1999.
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 Pokemon toy that came inside the ball.
As part of the voluntary recall effort, more than 8,100 Burger
King restaurants posted recall notices in both English and
Spanish. When the recall was first announced, Burger King
placed an ad in USA Today, and CPSC broadcast a video news
release so local television stations could use video tape
showing the danger. CPSC Chairman Ann Brown also announced
the recall on the Today Show reaching millions of viewers.
In addition, Burger King worked with the CPSC to send recall
notices to 56,000 pediatricians' offices, 10,000 emergency
room directors and 25,000 emergency health care clinics across
the country. Notices were posted on the CPSC and Burger King
web sites, and on web sites frequented by Pokemon fans and
parents. Recall notices will be posted on tray liners, carry-out
bags and french fry bags as well.
Burger King also will purchase national cable and network
television advertisements to alert consumers to the recall.
The company also has set up a toll-free hotline number with
information about the recall in both English and Spanish at
(800) 775-0625.
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