Magnetic ball sets sold online by Walmart have been recalled for being an “ingestion hazard” for children.
The Relax 5mm Science Kit, Large Hematite Magnets Magnetic Stones Building Blocks do not meet the federal regulations for magnets, according to an alert from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The spherical magnets, sold online exclusively by Walmart through JoyBuy for about $14, are “stronger than permitted” and one or more fit within the agency’s small parts cylinder, which is approximately the size of a young child’s throat.
“When high-powered magnets are swallowed, the ingested magnets can attract to each other, or to another metal object, and become lodged in the digestive system,” the CPSC release read.
“This can result in perforations, twisting and/or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning and death.”
The Post has reached out to Walmart for comment.
In October, the child safety organization Tiny Hearts, run by an ex-paramedic, demonstrated the dangers of swallowing the “strong” but “small” magnets as a warning to parents.
Multiple parents watching the educational video had “never thought of” the potential hazard magnets present.
CPSC advised consumers to stop using the recalled magnets, take them from kids and contact the vendor, Joybuy, for a refund and shipping label to return the recalled items.
While no injuries have been reported in conjunction with the recall, CPSC said that 2,400 incidents of magnet ingestion were treated in emergency rooms from 2017 to 2021, and there have been seven deaths associated with magnet ingestion, five of which were in the U.S.
In September, a mom in England shared the cautionary tale of her 2-year-old swallowing six magnets, which burned four holes in her small bowel and required emergency surgery to remove.
It was a “miracle” her little girl was even alive, said concerned mom Jade Berriman.
“The surgeon said he didn’t know how she survived all that time in so much pain,” the 31-year-old explained. “He said he’s taken a lot of magnets out of children, but this is the worst he had ever seen.”
