News

McDonald's recalls Happy Meal toys after more than 70 children hurt

August 23, 2016

McDonald's is telling its customers to immediately return any of their "Step-iT" activity wristbands recently distributed with Happy Meals and Mighty Kids Meals to stores after more than 70 children have been reported injured by the devices, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission . The bands — of which about 29 million have been distributed in the U.S. and another 3.6 million in Canada — will be exchanged for a free replacement toy and either a yogurt tube or bag of apple slices, according to a news release this morning. 

The activity bands came in two styles, including one with an activity counter and a motion-activated light-up band. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission began investigating after  receiving approximately 70 injury reports, including at least seven involving children, who had developed blisters using the bands, which were manufactured in China.The recalled bands were distributed in kids meals between Aug. 9 and Aug. 17.

The activity counter bands came in translucent plastic orange, blue or green and have a digital screen that track youngsters' movements. The light-up band comes in translucent plastic red, purple or orange and blinks light when youngsters move while wearing it. Both styles have "STEP-iT" printed on them with a button to activate. On the back. all the devices have the words "made for McDonald's" printed on them. 

The consumer contacts for McDonald's concerning the safety recall include a phone contact of 800-244-6227 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central time or online at www.mcdonalds.com, where consumers can click on "Safety Recall" for more information.

"Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of our customers which is why upon learning about concerns with these bands we acted swiftly to stop distribution of these products," said Terri Hickey, a spokesperson for McDonald's. "We apologize to our customers who were impacted and for the inconvenience this recall has caused.”
 
Hickey said that approximately 33 million wristbands were manufactured for the U.S. and Canada, but due to the limited distribution dates and McDonald's decision to stop distributing to customers on Aug. 17 many of the wristbands had not yet been distributed to customers. 

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction.  Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually.

QSRweb.com has a request in for comment from McDonald's and we will update this article when and if the chain responds.