Aqua Dots Childrens Toy Announces Voluntary Toy Recall

If you have an Aqua Dots product in your home, it is very important that you take it and all Aqua Dot beads away from your children immediately.

According to a recent press release from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there have been several reported cases where young children have swallowed the "dots" that are used for painting.

Additionally, the Children's Hospital at Westmead (New South Wales, Australia) has advised that when an Aqua Dot is swallowed, "the chemical is changed to GHB in the body." GHB is commonly referred to as the 'date-rape' drug, or 'liquid ecstasy.'

One of the children was only 20 months old and swallowed several dozen Aqua Dot beads. While the child is now OK, after swallowing the now recalled Aqua Dots, he vomited, got dizzy, became comatose and was in the hospital until he recovered.

Aqua Dots are a craft item that allowed children to make 3-D objects using the small colored beads. When sprayed with water, the beads fused together. In addition to the main kit, accessory kits were sold. The accessories included an applicator pen, design templates, drying fan, and spray bottle.

The recalled product was sold between $17 and $30 through merchandisers in the U.S. Aqua Dots have been sold worldwide. They were manufactured in China.

Prior to the recall, over 4 million Aqua Dots toys have been sold since April 2007. Toys R Us, Target, WalMart and other stores have pulled this item from their shelves. As of the time of this writing, unfortunately, many online retailers are still offering this product for sale; the recall is voluntary.

If you own an Aqua Dots product, you can contact Spin Master at 1-800-622-8339 between 9am and 6pm ET, Monday - Friday for additional information about this recall.

Spin Master is also developing a special web site with more information about the recall of Aqua Dots at www.aquadotsrecall.com. As of the time of this article, the web site regarding the Aqua Dots recall was not yet available.

Aqua Dots was sold under the name Bindeez in Australia.

Recalled Product Specifics:
Its name is Aqua Dots, made by Spin Master Ltd.
The packaging on this toy said that it was for ages 4+
In addition to the main kit, accessories were available. The accessories include:
An applicator pen
Design templates
Drying fan
Spray bottle

Recall Contact:
Spin Master
1-800-622-8339, 9am - 6pm ET, Monday - Friday
www.aquadotsrecall.com

Sources:
http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/prhtml08/08074.html
http://www.chw.edu.au/poisons/news/