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MEGA Brands Inc. said today it will conduct a voluntary global recall of its MagnaMan Action Figures and Magtastik and Magnetix Jr. pre-school magnetic toys after more than 44 reports of magnets coming loose in the United States.
The recall is being done in co-operation with the U.S. Consumer Safety Product Commission.
The cost of the recalled products is approximately $7 million, which will be reflected in the company's fourth-quarter results for 2007, the company said in a press release.


The danger leading to the recall is that magnets found by young children can be swallowed or could get caught in the child's wind pipe, the company said. And if more than one magnet is swallowed, the two can attract each other and cause intestinal perforations or blockages. These can be fatal.
MEGA Brands said it was aware of 44 reports in the U.S. of magnets coming loose from the recalled toys, including one report of a three-year-old boy receiving medical treatment to remove a magnet from his nose and one report of an 18-month-old toddler found with a single magnet in his mouth, which was not swallowed.
Consumers are being instructed to stop using the recalled toys and to return them to MEGA Brands for a free replacement.
The design of the recalled product lines is no longer in production.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning consumers to return MEGA Brand Magtastik and Magnetix Jr. Pre-School Magnetic Toys.
Nearly four hundred thousand sets have been sold in Canada and more than one million have been sold in the U.S.
Magtastik and Magnetix Jr. toy sets have been sold widely at Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, K-Mart and other toy stores from January 2005 through December 2007 for between $10 and $40.
The company is also voluntarily recalling MagnaMan Magnetic Action Figures. The toy figures, Futuristic Warrior or Ancient Warrior, have body parts that attach with magnets which can be swallowed or aspirated.
There have been 90,000 MagnaMan sets sold in canada, with seven reports of magnets coming loose. No injuries have been reported.
In the U.S., there have been 25 reports of magnets coming loose from the figures, with no injuries reported.
Both toy sets being recalled are made in China and distributed by MEGA Brands America Inc., of Livingston, N.J.
With files from Becky Rynor, Canwest News Service