Sportwear firm Reebok is recalling up to 145,000 metal charm bracelets distributed as a gift with footwear sold in Britain and Ireland following the death from lead poisoning of a child who swallowed part of the jewellery.
The company yesterday advised customers who had the heart-shaped bracelet to take them away from children immediately and to dispose of them.
The US Product Safety Commission said on Wednesday that the bracelets, which were made in China, contained high levels of lead, posing a risk of poisoning and adverse health effects to young children.
The voluntary recall of the product came after Reebok was informed of the death, caused by lead poisoning, of a four-year-old child from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The eight-inch long metal bracelet and the heart-shaped charm engraved with the name "Reebok" were given free with the company's range of classic children's footwear from December 2004.
A spokeswoman for Reebok yesterday told The Irish Times that 145,000 bracelets had been distributed to retailers in Ireland and the UK to give away with the footwear range. The company was unable to say how many bracelets were given to customers in Ireland.
President and chief executive of Reebok International Paul Harrington said yesterday that the company had "an unequivocal responsibility to publicly address the tragedy and to work very hard to ensure that what might have contributed to this death never happened again".
