Burger King Recalls 2 Toys That Could Choke Children

In the latest in a string of blunders involving its promotional toys, Burger King said Tuesday that it is recalling two more products that pose safety risks to young children.

The Miami-based restaurant chain, which has more than 8,300 eateries nationwide, is recalling 2.6 million Hourglass Space Sprout and Look for Me Bumblebee toys. They are distributed in meals for children younger than 3, and can break apart and release small balls or beads that pose a choking hazard, the company said in a statement issued with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Burger King has received no reports of injuries, but the company decided to recall the toys after its own safety consultant examined them and found them faulty, said Chris Clouser, the chain’s chief global marketing officer.

The safety consultant was hired this year as part of the company’s effort to revamp its promotional toy program. Over the last two years, Burger King has been beset by a series of dangerous--and deadly--marketing mishaps that have forced it to recall the toy giveaways designed to attract its youngest customers. The worst incidents involved the death of two children in 1999.

Problems with the safety of fast-food toy promotions have plagued the fast-food industry, and about 30 million free toys have been taken off the market in less than two years.

In March, McDonald’s Corp. voluntarily recalled about 234,000 toys that came with the restaurant chain’s Happy Meals after learning three children had choked or gagged on the Scooter Bug antenna, which was prone to breaking off.

Burger King stands out for the frequency and magnitude of its recent incidents.

In December 1999, the chain recalled 25 million Pokemon Balls after they were linked to the deaths of two children, ages 4 months and 13 months, who suffocated after placing part of the toy over their faces. In March of this year, Burger King recalled 400,000 Rattling, Paddling Riverboat toys because of a removable part that posed a choking risk.

The Hourglass Space Sprout distributed by Burger King has a green head, a clear, hourglass-shape body filled with beads and two red balls with yellow arms. The Look for Me Bumblebee has a purple base, a yellow head and three rings that fit over the head. When shaken, the toys make a rattling sound.

On top of the recalls, Burger King last month replaced the netting that encloses about 650 of its restaurant playgrounds after a 4-year-old boy became entangled at one location and died.

Recent problems with toy promotions prompted Burger King’s new management team, which took control of the company in April, to hire the safety consultant that identified the latest hazards, Clouser said.

Tuesday’s recall came as the company received 18 reports from consumers about the toys breaking apart, including six complaints that children put the beads or balls in their mouths. The toys were distributed with children’s meals from January to July.

Burger King will require all future promotional toys to be tested by the company’s new safety consultant, Clouser said.

The toys, which were manufactured in China, were imported by Alcone Marketing Group in Irvine after passing safety tests by the manufacturer and an independent expert approved by the CPSC, Clouser said.

Alcone is one of three marketing companies with which Burger King contracts for its promotional toys. “We will evaluate immediately all those relationships,” Clouser said.

Alcone officials couldn’t be reached late Tuesday.

The toy promotions may be doing Burger King more harm than good, said James Barrett, an analyst with Josephthal & Co. “It’s bad publicity. It’s damaging to the brand. It has to be disruptive at the store level,” he said.

But company officials believe the toys are valuable marketing tools they can’t afford to abandon. “They bring people into the restaurant,” Clouser said. “It’s a major part of our business for children [age] 3 and under. . . . We just have to do it the right way, and we intend to.”

In fiscal year 2000, Burger King had sales of $11.4 billion.

The recalls are likely to have little effect on Burger King’s Britain-based parent company Diageo, Barrett said. If Diageo completes its pending acquisition of part of Seagram Co.’s wine and spirits empire--including popular brands Captain Morgan’s, Crown Royal and VO--Burger King will contribute less than 5% of the conglomerate’s earnings, he said.

Diageo has made clear it wants to either sell or spin off the burger chain. “Burger King gets an inordinate amount of press, but it’s not inordinately important to Diageo’s income statement,” Barrett said.

The CPSC advises parents to take the toys away from children and call (800) 661-9173 for instructions on returning the toy for a free replacement.