Bumble Bee toys with antennae pose choking hazard

<br>WASHINGTON (AP) _ Graco Children's Products said Wednesday it is recalling 398,000 Bumble Bee toys that came attached by antennae to high chairs and walker-type activity centers, because children

Wednesday, January 14th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Graco Children's Products said Wednesday it is recalling 398,000 Bumble Bee toys that came attached by antennae to high chairs and walker-type activity centers, because children may choke on the antenna if the toy breaks off.

Graco has received 26 reports of the antennae breaking off the toys, including five reports of children who started to choke on the broken antennae. In one incident, a child's throat was scratched after the child's mother removed the broken antenna from the child's mouth.

The recall affects all Bumble Bee toys with blue antennae, which were distributed with Graco high chairs and Graco Tot Wheels Mobile Entertainers and sold separately as accessories and replacement parts. It does not include Bumble Bee toys with yellow or black antennae. The toys with the blue antennae were manufactured between Nov. 8, 2001 and March 9, 2003.

The high chairs included in the recall have one of the following model numbers: 3656CUB, 3658FKB, 3659KER, 3659NGS, 3660WNN or 35605. The recalled entertainers have the model numbers 4522OTM, 4522TOTM, 4521ALP, 35628 or 4512FUN. Toys that were sold separately have the model number 548094S.

The products were sold at discount, department and children's stores between October 2001 and March 2003. The high chairs and entertainers sold for between $39 and $89. The toys cost $5 when sold individually.

Consumers should discard the recalled toys immediately and contact Graco for a free replacement toy, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

Graco can be reached toll-free at 1-800-258-3213 anytime.

Graco Children's Products, Inc. is based in Exton, Pa. The toys were made in China.