In Wake of Second Death, CPSC and Burger King Again Urge Consumers to Destroy and Discard Pokemon Balls

January 27, 2000Release # 00-058 Company Phone Number: (305) 378-3535 CPSC Consumer Hotline: (800) 638-2772 CPSC Media Contact: Ken Giles, (301) 504-7052 Burger King Contact: Kim Miller or Charles Nicolas, (305) 378-7277 In Wake of Second Death, CPSC and Burger King Again Urge Consumers to Destroy and Discard Pokemon Balls WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Burger King Corp. are again urging consumers to immediately destroy and discard Pokemon balls distributed with Burger King kids meals in November and December 1999. On January 25, 2000, a 4-month-old boy in Indianapolis, Ind., reportedly suffocated when one-half of a Pokemon ball that was in his crib became stuck on his face. Burger King Corp., in cooperation with CPSC, issued a voluntary recall of more than 25 million Pokemon balls on December 27, 1999. The balls pose a suffocation hazard to children under three years of age. In December, a 13-month old girl reportedly suffocated when one-half of a Pokemon ball covered her nose and mouth. Also in December, an 18-month old girl nearly suffocated when a ball-half got stuck over her face. On the second attempt, the girl's father was able to pull the ball-half from her face.Pokemon balls are plastic, ball-shaped containers between 2.75 and 3 inches in diameter. They pull apart to reveal one of 57 different Pokemon toys inside. The balls were distributed in a variety of colors including red and white, and hot pink. Packaging described them as safety tested and recommended for all ages of children.Burger King restaurants nationwide distributed the Pokemon balls inside Burger King big kids meals and regular kids meals from early November through December 1999.Consumers should immediately take the balls away from children under the age of three. 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 small fries. Children can continue to use the Pokemon toy that ca