Fisher-Price to recall 11m toys

US toy-maker Fisher-Price is recalling almost 11 million toys over safety concerns, the US consumer product safety commission…

US toy-maker Fisher-Price is recalling almost 11 million toys over safety concerns, the US consumer product safety commission confirmed today.

Fisher-Price notified the agency of certain design and manufacturing flaws, triggering an investigation of company products that found additional defects, said Scott Wolfson, CPSC spokesman.

Mattel, which bought the company in 1993, said in a regulatory filing today that removing the toys will trim 2010 per-share earnings by 1 cent.

The recall is the largest for toys since Congress passed a law two years ago beefing up the product-safety regulator's powers.

READ MORE

Mattel and Fisher-Price were fined $2.3 million in June 2009 for toys violating federal lead-paint laws, at the time the largest civil fine in CPSC history.

The recalls are led by seven million Fisher-Price tricycles, after 10 injuries were reported when children struck a protruding plastic "ignition key" on the toy, the agency said.

Fisher-Price also is recalling 2.8 million infant toys, including the Baby Playzone Crawl and Cruise, the CPSC said. The toymaker will recall 950,000 high chairs after reports of 14 injuries, including seven children who needed stitches and one treated for a tooth injury.

The recalls also cover 100,000 toy cars with wheels that may detach, the agency said. Fisher-Price said in a statement that it has hundreds of millions of products in the marketplace used safely every day, and it's offering "simple fixes" to allow the recalled toys to be used without danger.