Easter 2017: Target Pulls Out Easter Egg Toys That Could ‘Grow’ Inside The Body

Target recently announced its recall to over 500,00 Easter egg toys that pose a “serious ingestion hazard.” The pull out came just in time for this year’s Easter celebration.

On Thursday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that the retailer company, Target, is recalling more than 500,000 water-absorbing Easter toys. These toys include Hatch & Grow Easter Eggs, Easter Grow Toys, and Hatch Your Own Dino Egg products. According to reports, the company decided to pull out the said toys due to its safety issues especially when ingested.

Apparently, the Easter-themed toys can expand up to 600 percent of their original size when soaked in water. Once swallowed, it could “grow” inside the body and cause “intestinal obstructions, resulting in severe discomfort, vomiting, dehydration, and could be life-threatening,” CNN reports. Also, the CPSC also issued a warning that once the toy was ingested, it might not appear on an X-ray and will require surgery to remove.

The Hatch & Grow Easter Eggs feature animal characters including a white bunny, brown bunny, and butterfly. It also comes in three colors — pink, blue, and purple. Meanwhile, the Easter Grow Toys include a yellow chick, brown bunny, and white bunny. As for the Hatch Your Own Dino, the eggs comes in three variants — purple, yellow, and green. Each egg contains one of eleven featured dinosaurs.

Customers who already purchased Hatch & Grow Easter Eggs and Easter Grow Toys products should check for model number 234-25-1200 on the back of the packaging. Meanwhile, those who bought Hatch Your Own Dino Egg can check their model number 234-09-0016 on the label inserted in the packaging. The commission also encouraged consumers to return the said Easter toys to Target and get a full refund.

So far, no injuries have been reported related to these Easter toys, but the commission urged everyone to steer clear of the hazardous toys. Target sells the Easter toys from February to March for $1.

This is not the first time Target has recalled toys that pose a threat to its consumers. In March, the company pulled out the Magnetic Tic Tac Toe Games due to safety issues. Pretty much the same with the Easter toys, the Magnetic Tic Tac Toe could also be life-threatening. According to CPSC, the magnets from the toy can come off, which could be a choking hazard.

Apparently, when magnets are ingested, they can “link together inside the intestines and clamp onto body tissues.” This may lead to intestinal obstructions, perforations, sepsis, and even death.

The magnetic tic tac toe is composed of a 10 x 10-inch plywood board with nine “X” and “Heart” pieces. The said pieces have a magnet attached on its back. A total of 19,000 units were sold at Target since December last year for $5.

So far, the magnetic board game has no reported injuries. However, some consumers complained about the magnet falling off. The commission also issued a warning to immediately stop using the said game and return it to any Target outlet for a full refund.

As of this writing, the manufacturers of the said Easter egg toys have not commented on the latest recall.

Target’s move of recalling the popular products comes shortly after a year of declining sales and stock prices. According to reports, the Minnesota-based retailer faced several controversies that somehow affected their performance.

In April 2016, Target was criticized after announcing that men claiming to be transgender women would be allowed to use any bathroom or changing room they want. By February, the retail store lost $15 billion since its pro-transgender announcement and lost over $30 per share since last year. Target also faced massive boycotts because of the said issue.

[Featured Image by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]