Pokemon Balls Recalled by Burger King

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Burger King Corporation is voluntarily recalling more than 25 million Pokemon balls included with Burger King kids meals. The balls may pose a suffocation hazard to children under three years of age. Pokemon balls are the ball-shaped plastic containers that hold Pokemon toys in Burger King kids meals. Either half of the Pokemon ball can become stuck on a child's face, covering the nose and mouth and may cause suffocation of a child under three years of age.

A 13-month-old girl reportedly suffocated when one-half of a Pokemon ball covered her nose and mouth. An 18-month-old girl reportedly also had a ball-half stuck over her face, causing her distress. However, the girl's father (on the second attempt) pulled the ball-half from her face.

The Pokemon balls are plastic ball-shaped containers between 2 ¾" and 3" in diameter. They pull apart to reveal one of 57 different Pokemon toys inside. The balls were distributed in a variety of colors including red and white, and hot pink. Packaging described them as safety tested and recommended for all ages of children.


Burger King restaurants nationwide distributed the Pokemon balls inside Burger King Kids Club Meals and regular kids meals from early November through December, 1999.

Consumers should immediately take the balls away from children under the age of three. They should discard the ball or return both halves of the ball to a Burger King restaurant for a free small order of french fries. Consumers may continue to use the Pokemon toy that came inside the ball.

Burger King restaurants will continue to distribute the Pokemon toys in balls with Burger King Big Kids Meals, but the Pokemon balls will no longer be included with the toy in the regular kids club meals, generally intended for younger children. Consumers should not allow younger children under the age of three to play with these balls.

Burger King's Consumer Relations phone number is 305-378-3535, which operates Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. east coast time.