Chuck E. Cheese's is recalling more than one million light-up rings and toy glasses because of concerns that children could swallow a small battery inside the playthings. The national restaurant chain voluntarily pulled off the market approximately 1,100,000 light-up rings and 120,000 toy star glasses, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
Swallowing hazard
The plastic casing on the Chinese-made toys can break into small pieces if crushed or pulled apart and possibly expose the batteries, federal regulators warned. If swallowed, the batteries could damage a child's stomach, intestine, esophagus, or nasal mucus membrane.
CPSC said it has received two reports of injuries linked to the light-up rings. One incident involved a child who swallowed the battery. The second involved a child who inserted the battery into his nostrils. There are no reports of injuries associated with the star glasses, the agency said.
Chuck E. Cheese's distributed the light-up rings from April 2009 through June 2010 as promotional items or during parent-teacher association conventions. The plastic rings came in several colors, are 1 1/8 inches across, and have a black elastic band.
The restaurant chain put the red translucent plastic star glasses in its birthday packages from April through August of 2010. The glasses are about 5 1/2 inches across, 2 1/2 inches tall, and have the words Chuck E. Cheese's painted on the side.
Return process
CPSC advises consumers to take the recalled toys away from children immediately and return them to any Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant. The company will give consumers a $1 refund plus four game tokens or a Soccer Promo-Cup plus four tokens for the light-up rings. Consumers who return the star glasses can either receive a $4.99 refund or a Flashing Hands prize.
For more information, consumers may contact Chuck E. Cheese's at (888) 778-7193 or send the company an e-mail at guestrelations@cecentertainment.com.
The CPSC is encouraging consumers to report any problems they've experienced with these recalled toys to the agency.
