Mattel to recall Polly Pocket sets

Mattel Inc. will recall about 4.4 million Polly Pocket doll and accessory sets after three children had to undergo surgery after swallowing magnets from the sets, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday.

All three suffered intestinal perforations that required surgery, the commission said.

Notice of the recall came the same day that the U.S. Public Interest Research Group called for warning labels on toys with magnets.

“If a child swallows more than one magnet they can attract to each other in the body and cause intestinal blockage,” said research group Director Alison Cassady in Washington.

The group said the Consumer Product Safety Commission should require a warning label on all magnetic toys that tells parents to seek immediate medical attention if a child swallows magnets.

The safety concerns surrounding small magnets are an emerging issue for the toy industry, and Mattel said “it is working with industry, consumer advocates and the government to make appropriate revisions to the U.S. toy standard to prevent such issues in the future.”

A spokeswoman for El Segundo-based Mattel said the three children who swallowed the magnets had all recovered from surgery, and no lawsuits had been filed regarding the toy recall.

Sean McGowan, a toy analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities, said there was not a large number of toys on the market that had magnets.

“I don’t think that magnets are a trend as much as they just happen to have shown up in a couple of products,” he said.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said 2.4 million of the recalled Polly Pocket play sets were sold in the United States, and an additional 2 million were sold outside the U.S.

The safety commission said it was aware of 170 reports of the small magnets coming out of the toys.

The recalled play sets were manufactured before April 1, 2005, and were sold at discount department stores and toy stores from May 2003 through September 2006 for $15 to $30.

The Polly Pocket magnetic play sets currently on store shelves are not included in the recall.