Earlier this week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued an urgent recall alert for high-powered “magnetic balls and cubes due to an ingestion hazard and risk of death.” The recall specifically involves nearly 10 million Zen and Neoballs Magnets. When announcing the recall, the CPSC issued the following statement:

Alert graphic; image courtesy of Clker-Free-Vector-Images via Pixabay, www.pixabay.com

“When two or more high-powered magnets are swallowed, either accidentally or intentionally, 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, infection, blood poisoning, and death.”So far, two children had ingested the magnets, requiring surgery to remove them. For those who don’t know, “Zen Magnets and Neoballs are high-powered 5 mm spherical magnets.” According to the notice, the recalled Zen Magnets were “sold individually and in sets of 72, 216 with 6 spares, and 1,728 with 8 spares…while the Neoballs were sold individually and in sets in the following colors: silver, gold, red, orange, green, red, blue, and purple.” The magnets were sold online at Neoballs.com and ZenMagnets.com and retailed between $12 and $264 per set. They were also sold individually for 0.06 to 0.10 cents per magnet.For now, consumers should refrain from using the affected magnets and reach out to Zen Magnets LLC for a full refund. If you have additional questions or concerns about the recall, contact the company at 1-844-936-6245.

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RECALL ALERT: Zen Magnets, Neoballs Magnets recalled due to ingestion hazardRecall alert: 10 million Zen Magnets recalled due to ingestion hazard