On Wednesday, December 26, 2000, a second child was reported to have
suffocated on Burger King's promotional POKEMON ball. The 4-month old,
Indianapolis, Indiana boy was found dead by his grandmother who left the
toy in the crib with the sleeping child. Millions of the toys were recalled
on December 11, 1999 after a Sonora, California girl was found in her
playpen with half the ball over her nose and mouth. U.S. federal officials
accused the Miami-based fast food chain of being too slow in recalling the
containers, which the company denied. The balls, which measure 2-and-3/4
inches to 3 inches in diameter and can be opened by pulling the two halves
apart, were used as containers for POKEMON action figures given away at the
restaurant. The packaging on the toy stated that the item was "safety
tested and recommended for all ages." On Tuesday, February 1, 2000, Burger
King plans to air 15-second TV commercials warning parents to "immediately
take the balls away from children under the age of 3. They should discard
the ball or return both halves of the ball and the clip to a Burger King
restaurant for a free order of fries." The POKEMON toys, which were handed
out to over 25 million people, were safety tested for choking, not for
suffocation, said Burger King spokesman Charles Nicolas. Currently, it is
not an industry practice to test for suffocation added Nicolas.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
