McDonald’s offers refund of $3 apiece for recalled ‘Shrek’ glasses

McDonald’s Corp. is offering $3 refunds to customers who bought “Shrek” drinking glasses, the promotional items recalled last week because they’re tainted with cadmium.

Starting Wednesday, customers can fill out a refund slip and return the glassware to any McDonald’s restaurant, the Oak Brook, Ill.-based company said. The glasses sold for $1.99 with a food purchase and $2.49 without.

The 16-ounce glasses featuring characters from “Shrek Forever After” were recalled June 4 in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The designs on the glasses contained the cadmium, typically used in making batteries, metal coatings and plastic. Brief inhalation of high concentrations of cadmium may cause lung disease, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

“It sounds like a gesture of goodwill to me,” said Sara Senatore, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in New York. “Rather than just give back the cost of the cup they are also acknowledging the lost time and inconvenience, and offering an incentive to come back.”

A company spokeswoman said the refund helps account for taxes customers may have paid on the purchase. More than 7 million of the approximately 12 million glasses produced have been bought, she said.

No injuries have been reported. The glasses, manufactured in the U.S. by ARC International, came in four designs to promote “Shrek Forever After,” the fourth film in the series from DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. and Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures.

McDonald’s also said Tuesday that sales at U.S. restaurants open at least 13 months climbed 3.4% in May, fueled in part by the popularity of the “Shrek” promotions.

McDonald’s shares rose $1.63 to $68.38.