Chuck E. Cheese Recalls 1.2 Million Rings and Toy Eyeglasses
September 16, 2010
Any new battery-powered toys sold by Chuck E. Cheese restaurants will be "designed to higher standards of battery containment," an executive with the chain's parent said Wednesday as the company ramped up its largest product recall ever.

More than 1.2 million Chuck E. Cheese light-up rings and toy eyeglasses were recalled Wednesday over concerns that children might swallow the small batteries inside.

The chain, owned by Irving-based CEC Entertainment Inc., recalled about 1.1 million Light-up Rings distributed in a promotion that ran between April 2009 and June of this year or during parent-teacher association conventions. It also recalled about 120,000 pairs of Star Glasses that were distributed with birthday packages this year from April through August.

It is the fourth recall of children's toys since 2001 for the kid-oriented restaurant chain. Recalls in 2001, 2002 and 2005 ranged from 4,000 to 144,000 items each.

It's also the third-largest toy recall in the United States this year, behind recalls of toy dart guns and ride-on buggies, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The commission said the plastic on the restaurant's toys can break, possibly exposing the button-type batteries inside.

Ingestion could lead to stomach, intestine or esophagus problems or other injuries.

The commission did not link the toys to any reported injuries. But it said two children were able to remove the battery from the rings. One child swallowed a battery; the other put the battery up his nose.

There were no reported incidents with the toy eyeglasses.

CEC distributes about 140 million prizes and merchandise items each year, said Richard Huston, executive vice president of marketing.

"Even though these items passed safety testing by a certified testing lab, we intend to have any new items with batteries designed to higher standards of battery containment," he said.

Consumers should return the toys for a refund.

Posted by Clay Kohut at 12:00 AM