Owners of the Chuckle & Roar Ultimate Water Beads Activity Kit by Buffalo Games should immediately take them away from their kids, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday, citing the death of a 10-month-old after the child swallowed the colorful water-absorbent beads in July.
The product, sold at Target stores and via its website from March 2022 through November 2022 for $15, has been recalled, and consumers are eligible for a refund.
“If a water bead is ingested, it expands and can pose ingestion, choking and intestinal obstruction hazards inside a child’s body, resulting in severe discomfort, vomiting, dehydration and a risk of death to a child,” the commission said in a news release.
Another incident occurred last November, when a 9-month-old in Maine was seriously injured after swallowing the beads. The beads caused “intestinal obstruction requiring surgery to remove them,” according to the news release.
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In that case, the child’s mother, Folichia Mitchell, told Good Morning America that she bought the beads for her 8-year-old son. Despite putting them on the kitchen table — assuming they would be out of reach of her infant daughter — the baby began vomiting days later, she said.
Share this articleShareHospital tests revealed a large round object in the baby’s stomach, she said. It was a water bead.
Five surgeries followed — one to remove the bead and four others to address infections from the intestinal blockage.
Water beads are typically made of super-absorbent polymers, a synthetic substance that can grow to the size of a marble — or a tennis ball — after exposure to water, according to the National Capital Poison Center. The beads help keep plants hydrated, but are also used in children’s toys, which use nontoxic super-absorbent polymers.
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The recall only involves the Chuckle & Roar Ultimate Water Beads Activity Kit by Buffalo Games, which are sold exclusively by Target. The kit is sold in a purple box with a UPC Number 079346627035 on the back.
For a refund, consumers should contact Buffalo Games at 800-637-0732 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time Monday through Friday, or email beadrecall@buffalogames.com. They can also visit its recall website.
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