Magnet Warnings and Recalls

Boxine US of Palo Alto, Calif., is recalling about 4,200 tonies Blocks.

When two or more high-powered magnets are swallowed, either intentionally by younger children or accidentally by older children, the ingested magnets can attract to each other, or to another metal object, and become lodged in the digestive system.

This can result in perforations, twisting, and/or blockage of the intestines, which could lead to infection, blood poisoning, and death. The firm has received one report of the magnet detaching from the product. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves tonies wooden blocks with magnets inside. Only tonies Blocks Marine Life (UPC 840147407689), tonies Blocks Invention and Innovation (UPC 840147407733), and tonies Blocks Gentle Giant Dinos (UPC 840147407580) are being recalled.

Each block is about 5 cm wide and 1.5 cm thick. They were sold in blue, tan, and green colors with pictures on one side of various marine life, dinosaurs, inventions, and innovations. There is also white text on the other side that describes the picture.

The blocks were sold in sets of four and were packaged in a white and red cardboard box. The UPC is on the back of the box beneath the barcode.

The blocks, manufactured in Germany, were sold online at tonies.com from November 2021, through December 2021, for between $15 and $20.

What to do

Consumers should stop using the recalled blocks with magnets immediately, take them away from children, and contact tonies for instructions on returning the recalled blocks for a full refund.
Consumers may also go to the company's website and choose "Blocks Return" as the reason for return. tonies will then provide the customer with a return label.

After the product has been received, tonies will provide the initial form of payment with a full refund and an additional $14.99 tonies.com coupon code. tonies is contacting all purchasers directly.

The recalled products are being remotely deactivated so that they no longer function.

Consumers may contact tonies toll-free at (877) 397-7898, by email at productsafety.us@tonies.com, or online for more information.

Zen Magnets of Denver, Colo., is recalling about 10 million Zen Magnets and Neoballs Magnets sold individually and in magnet sets.

When two or more high-powered magnets are swallowed, they can attract to each other, or to another metal object, and become lodged in the digestive system. This can result in perforations, twisting and/or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning, and death.

The company is aware of two children who ingested Zen Magnets and required surgery to remove the magnets and parts of their intestines and bowels.

In addition, CPSC is aware of other reports of children and teenagers ingesting high-powered magnets and requiring surgery.

A 19-month-girl died after ingesting similar high-powered magnets.

This mandatory recall involves all Zen Magnets and Neoballs magnets, which are high-powered 5 mm spherical magnets.

Zen Magnets were sold individually and in sets of 72, 216 with 6 spares, and 1,728 with 8 spares.

Neoballs were sold individually and in sets in the following colors: silver, gold, red, orange, green, red, blue, and purple.

“Zen Magnets” or “Neoballs” is printed on the packaging.

The magnets, manufactured in China, were sold online at Neoballs.com and ZenMagnets.com and the Colorado retailers listed below beginning in January 2009 for between $12 and $264 per set, or individually for 6 to 10 cents per magnet:

Colorado Retailers of Zen Magnets:

• Botanico, 3054 Larimer Street, Denver, Colo.80205
• Chronic Life, 12 Federal Boulevard, Denver, Colo. 80219
• The Glass Hut, 1350 South Sheridan Boulevard #9, Denver, Colo. 80232
• The Hemp Center - Colorado Springs, 2501 West Colorado Avenue #106, Colorado Springs, Colo. 80904
• The Hemp Center – Littleton, 2430 West Main Street, Littleton, Colo. 80120
• Herbal Alternatives: New Broadsterdam, 2568 South Broadway, Denver, Colo. 80210
• Herbal Dazed, 6525 Federal Boulevard, Denver, Colo. 80221
• Hobby Town – Aurora, 1915 South Havana Street, Aurora, Colo. 80014
• Hobby Town – Lakewood, 3355 South Wadsworth Boulevard, Lakewood, Colo. 80227
• Lightshade on Holly, 3950 North Holly Street, Denver, Colo. 80207
• Lyon's Finest 2, 11080 East 47th Avenue, Denver, Colo. 80239
• Meadowlark 64, 2701 Larimer Street, Denver, Colo. 80205
• MK Vapor, 10273 East Iliff Avenue, Aurora, Colo. 80247
• Nimbus Smoke Stop, 2960 South Federal Boulevard #7, Denver, Colo. 80236
• Octpipe, 5303 Leetsdale Drive, Denver, Colo. 80246
• Science Toy Magic, 11 Old Town Sq., Fort Collins, Colo. 80524
• Secret Stashh Gifts, 3655 Brighton Boulevard, Denver, Colo. 80216
• Soldis, Colorado Mills Mall, Lakewood, Colo. 80401
• Vaper Jungle, 7033 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, Colo. 80220

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled magnets and contact Zen Magnets LLC for a refund.

Consumers may contact Zen Magnets toll-free at (844) 936-6245, by email at contact@zenmagnets.com, or online at https://zenmagnets.com/public-releases/surprise-recall-from-cpsc/ for more information.

JBS USA Food Company of Greeley, Colo., is recalling approximately 4,860 pounds of imported boneless beef.

The products may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions.

The following raw, frozen, boneless beef item, imported on or around November 10, 2020, and distributed for further processing, is being recalled:

• 60-lb. cardboard boxes containing “95CL BONELESS BEEF PRODUCT OF AUSTRALIA” with “PACKED ON: 02-SEP-20” and Australian “EST. 4” on the packaging label.

The recalled product was shipped to distributors and further processors in New York and Pennsylvania.

The problem was discovered when FSIS collected a routine product sample that confirmed positive for the presence of E. coli O157:H7.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.

What to do

Consumers with questions may contact Kim Holzner at Kim.Holzner@jbssa.com.

Sobeauty of Port Jefferson Station, N.Y., is recalling about 600 “Mag Cube” magnetic ball sets.

The magnet sets contain high-powered magnets and violate the federal standard for children’s toys.

When two or more high-powered magnets are swallowed, they can link together inside a child’s intestines and clamp onto body tissues, causing intestinal obstructions, perforations, sepsis and death.

Internal injury from magnets can pose serious lifelong health effects.

While no incidents or injuries have been reported with these recalled magnet sets, CPSC staff has received numerous incident reports of ingestion involving other small, high-powered magnets, including many that required surgery.

This recall includes “Mag Cube” magnetic ball sets labeled as “3D MAGNETIC PUZZLE”, “MAGCUBE BUCKYBALLS” and “JOYNOTE” with “MAG CUBE” on the back of the box.

The magnet ball sets contain 216 spherical high-power rare earth magnets. The gold-colored spherical magnets is about 3 millimeters in diameter each, and the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple-colored spherical magnets are about 5 millimeters in diameter each.

The box contains: a drum-shape, dark blue-colored metal container, a black velvet pouch, a plastic separator, and an instructional paper.

“MAG CUBE” and “BUCKYBALLS” are printed on the metal container.

The metal container has the following cautionary statement “WARNING Keep Away From All Children! Do not put in nose or mouth. This product contains small magnet(s). Swallowed magnets can stick together across intestines causing serious infections and death. Seek immediate medical attention if magnet(s) are swallowed or inhaled. AGES 14+.”

The magnet sets, manufactured in China, were sold online at Walmart.com from March 2018, through December 2019, for between $13 and $20.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled magnetic balls and take them away from children. If the recalled magnetic balls were purchased for someone else, notify the recipient immediately.

Consumers should contact Sobeauty Inc. for instructions on returning the product and receiving a full refund including taxes and the original shipping cost.

Consumers may contact Sobeauty toll-free at (844) 946-7437 anytime or by email at recall@sobeautyinc.com for more information.

Panelcraft of Dearborn, Mich., is recalling about 2,000 children’s magnetic building sets.

The building sets corner welds can break, allowing the panels and frames to separate and release magnets during play. When released, exposed magnets can create a choking hazard.

No incidents or injuries are reported.

This recall involves two styles of Panelcraft Rainbow magnetic building sets: Rainbow Dream Builder and Rainbow Solid Builder.

The solid builder set includes 19 pieces: 11 solid panels in red, yellow, green, blue and purple and 8 white windows that measure 9 inches by 9 inches.

The rainbow dream builder set includes 19 windows in red, yellow, green, blue and purple colors that measure 9 inches by 9 inches.

The building sets, manufactured in China, were sold at Discount School Supply, Kaplan Early Learning Company, Panelcraft and Tout About Toys from November 2016, through January 2017, for between $120 and $150.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled building sets and take them away from children. Contact the firm to receive a prepaid shipping label for returning the recalled sets for a free replacement set including shipping.

Consumers may contact Panelcraft toll-free at 888-288-7615 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday or online at www.panelcraft.com and click on Contact Us for more information.

Cinmar LLC of West Chester, Ohio, is recalling about 4,500 travel maps with magnets.

If two or more magnets are swallowed, they can link together inside the intestines and clamp onto body tissues, causing intestinal obstructions, perforations, sepsis and death. Internal injury from magnets can pose serious lifelong health effects.

No incidents or injuries have been reported.

This recall involves World Magnetic Travel Maps with a burlwood frame. The world maps measure 54 inches wide and 36 inches tall and come with 50 magnetic markers. The maps affected by this recall have item number 145684 printed on the packaging.

The maps, manufactured in China, were sold exclusively at Frontgate retail and outlet stores and online at www.frontgate.com from October 2015, through March 2016, for about $225.

What to do

Consumers should immediately stop using the magnetic markers that came with the product, keep them out of reach of children and dispose of them or recycle them. Cinmar is contacting consumers who purchased the products directly and will provide instructions on how to receive replacement magnets.

Consumers may contact Cinmar toll-free at 888-263-9850 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday or online at www.frontgate.com and click on “Safety Recall Notices” at the bottom of the page for more information.

If you own Buckyballs and/or Buckycubes you have a refund coming. These loose, high powered magnets pose a deadly risk to young children, tweens, and teens, if ingested.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging consumers to immediately stop using these loose, high powered magnets, which pose a deadly risk to young children, tweens, and teens, if ingested and visit BuckyballsRecall.com to request a refund.

The website has an online registration page to file a claim that is active and easy for consumers to use. Consumers may receive a refund no greater than the purchase price of the product, and partial refunds may be provided depending on the number of magnets returned.

Consumers have until January 17, 2015 to submit requests to the Trustee for refunds.

Another round of Buckyball and Buckycube recalls is getting underway, in an attempt to curtail serious injuries to children who swallow the small but powerful magnets.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said it has reached a settlement with Craig Zucker, the former CEO and President of the company that manufactured Buckyballs and Buckycubes, Maxfield and Oberton, which was dissolved in 2012.

The bb-shaped smooth balls and cubes connect to one another with a strong magnetic bond. The magnets are individual balls or cubes that are sold in packages of many individual balls. They were originally sold as toys to children over 13 years of age, but after a recall in 2010, they are sold only to consumers age14 and older.

But the CPSC said the new warning label that has appeared on the package of Buckyballs since the 2010 recall has not resulted in a decrease in serious injuries to children. In November of 2011, CPSC issued a safety warning to consumers about this product but the injuries continue to occur. In July of 2012, CPSC filed a lawsuit against that resulted in the settlement announced earlier this week.

The magnets are of great interest to children of all ages: younger children mistakenly believe they are candy while older children use these products as faux facial piercings. The consequences of inhaling or swallowing more than one of the magnets can be severe. Children are at risk of developing serious injuries such as small holes in the stomach and intestines, intestinal blockage, blood poisoning, and even death.

Removing magnets surgically often requires the repair of the child’s damaged stomach and intestines. In the past, physicians have likened the internal damage caused by magnets to that of a bullet wound.

“We applaud the recall of Buckyballs and Buckycubes. High powered magnets have caused serious injuries to children. These incidents should not happen and can be prevented,” stated Rachel Weintraub, legislative director and senior counsel with Consumer Federation of America. “It is critical to get these products off of the market, out of people’s homes and away from children who could be harmed by ingesting two or more of these balls or cubes.”

Consumers will have six months to participate in the recall by requesting a refund. The recall trust will be funded by Craig Zucker and will be overseen by the CPSC.

It is illegal under federal law for any person to sell, offer for sale, manufacture, distribute in commerce, or import into the United States any Buckyballs or Buckycubes.

Discount School Supply of Monterey, Calif., is recalling about 3,700 Excellerations magnetic color sorting boards.

The magnet in the wand can detach and the plywood backing can crack and release small metal balls that are sandwiched between the board and a clear plastic cover. These pose choking and serious internal injury risks associated with ingestion of a magnet and metal ball. Additionally, the surface paint on the metal balls contains levels of lead that exceed the federal lead paint standard.

The company has received six reports of the plywood backing cracking and making the small metal balls accessible to children, and two reports of the magnet detaching from the wand. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves Excellerations magnetic color sorting boards with cupcake cut-outs that are used to teach color and sorting to young children. The recalled sorting board is made of plywood and is 16 inches wide and 12 inches high and has the Excellerations name and logo on the front in the bottom right corner.

A clear plastic cover is attached to the board by rivets and a 4-inch long wand with a magnet in one end is attached to the top of the board by a 13.5-inch plastic cord. The face of the board has one jar-shaped cut-out and six cupcake-shaped cut-outs that are colored red, yellow, blue, green, orange and purple.

Beneath the cover are about 60 multi-colored metal balls, each 1 centimeter in diameter. Children use the wand to move the balls around the board through channels from the jar to the cupcakes.

The boards, manufactured in China, were sold at discountschoolsupply.com from January 2013, through March 2014, for about $36.

Consumers should immediately stop children from using the recalled board, put it out of their reach and sight, and contact the company for a full refund.

Consumers may contact Discount School Supply at (800) 338-4430 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.

Design Ideas Ltd., of Springfield, Ill., is recalling about 21,000 Design Ideas and Neatlife Rubber Ducky Magnets, 3,200 Design Ideas Blowfish, and 2,000 Splat Magnets.

The small magnets can easily detach from the product. If swallowed, magnets can link together inside a child's intestines and clamp onto body tissues, causing intestinal obstructions, perforations, sepsis and death. Internal injury from magnets can pose serious lifelong health effects.

No incidents or injuries have been reported.

This recall involves miniature office and refrigerator magnets sold in the shape of a duck, blowfish and a splat. A small magnet is affixed to the underside of the brightly colored plastic objects which were sold in sets of four or six. Model number 3205121 (duck), 993205114 (duck), 3205122 (blowfish) or 3205078 (splat) is printed on the bottom of the packaging. “Magnets” and the Design Ideas’ logo are printed on the front of the package.

All the magnets were manufactured in China. Rubber ducky magnets were sold at Nordstrom’s Rack stores, novelty and gift stores, book stores and art stores nationwide from March 2007, through September 2013, for about $10. Blowfish magnets were sold at novelty and gift stores, book stores and art stores nationwide from March 2007, through March 2011, for about $10. Splat magnets were sold at CB2 stores, novelty and gift stores, office supply stores and art stores nationwide from November 2012, to February 2014, for about $10.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled magnets place them out of reach of children and contact Design Ideas for a refund.

Consumers may contact Design Ideas at (800) 426-6394 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.

Doctors and safety advocates are pressing for a ban on high-powered novelty and toy magnets, arguing that strong regulation is the only way to prevent children from swallowing the magnets, which can bind together in the digestive system and cause serious injury or death.

They testified yesterday at a public hearing called by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which is considering rules that would prohibit the sale of high-powered magnet sets. The rule would apply to magnets that fit within the CPSC’s small parts cylinder and have a flux index (or strength) of more than 50.  

The CPSC took action in response to a growing number of documented pediatric ingestions of magnets from magnet sets.

"CFA strongly supports CPSC's determination that there is an unreasonable risk of injury associated with children ingesting high powered magnets," stated Rachel Weintraub, Legislative Director and Senior Counsel at Consumer Federation of America. "Data from CPSC and from pediatric gastroenterologists across the country documents the serious medical consequences that occur as a result of a child ingesting more than one high powered magnet. The unique properties of these magnets compel a regulatory solution such as the one CPSC has proposed, that would protect children from the severe consequences of ingesting more than one of these magnets."

Buckyballs, Zen Magnets

High-powered magnet sets, marketed under names such as Buckyballs and Zen Magnets, are comprised of tiny high-powered magnet balls or cubes, often with 200 or more magnets to a set. When more than two magnets are swallowed, their attractive force (flux) allows them to find each other across or between different segments of the bowel.

For example, connections can occur between the stomach and the small intestine, between the small intestine and the colon, or across loops of bowel. When this happens, the result can be bowel perforation, fistulization (unnatural connections of the bowel), or tissue death (necrosis).

The danger is heightened by the difficultly of a timely diagnosis.  Ingestion of magnets does not result in immediate symptoms, so there can be a marked delay in diagnosis and treatment, yet injury can occur in as little as eight hours.  When symptoms do occur, they are non-specific (abdominal pain, fever, vomiting) and may resemble other common ailments.

High-powered magnets are not like other small foreign objects that children typically swallow, experts testifying the hearing said.  According to a 2012 study by the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN), nearly 80 percent of high-powered magnet ingestions cases require endoscopic or surgical intervention. Comparatively, only 10 to 20 percent of other foreign body ingestions require endoscopic removal and less than 1 percent require surgery.

“Actions taken to date by the Commission appropriately reflect the risk of significant and life-threatening injury that these magnet products pose to children," said Athos Bousvaros, M.D., NASPGHAN president. "There is nothing worse as a physician than treating a child with a preventable injury.  High-powered magnet ingestions are 100 percent avoidable if they are not available, which means banning their sale and doing everything possible to remove products already sold from any environment where children live, visit, play or learn."

Adobe of San Jose, Calif., is recalling about 500 high-powered magnets distributed with Adobe Connect “Effective Collaboration is Magnetic” promotional materials packages.

When two or more magnets are swallowed, they can link together inside the intestines and clamp onto body tissues, causing intestinal obstructions, perforations, sepsis and death. Internal injury from magnets can pose serious lifelong health effects.

The firm has received no reports of incidents or injuries. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has received 80 reports of incidents involving ingestion of other high powered magnets, resulting in 79 reports seeking medical intervention.

This recall involves high-powered magnet sets distributed with Adobe “Effective Collaboration is Magnetic” promotional materials. The promotional materials were distributed in a green box with a black lid and contain 12 high-powered magnets which are magnetically affixed to a laminated green cardboard sheet. The spherical silver magnets are about 5 millimeter in diameter. The text “With Adobe Connect it all just clicks” is printed in a circular shape around the magnets.

The magnets, manufactured in China, were distributed nationwide by Adobe as part of a promotional package for its “Adobe Connect” product during November 2012 at no cost to consumers.

Consumers should immediately stop using the magnets and either discard them or contact Adobe for instructions on returning the magnets.

Consumers may contact Adobe Recall collect at (503) 382-8500 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, ET.