
Rose Art Industries · Recalled
Child's Death Prompts Replacement Program of Magnetic Building Sets
Magnets found by young children can be swallowed or aspirated. If more than one magnet is swallowed, the magnets can attract each other and cause intestinal perforation or blockage, which can be fatal. This product is unsuitable for young children.
- Units
- About 3.8 million
- Reports
- 34
- Injuries
- 4
- Deaths
- 1
- Price
- $20–$60
- Remedy
- See notice
Reports, injuries, deaths and price are read out of the notice’s wording by rules, so they can miss unusual phrasing. The official notice is the record.
Affected
All Magnetix magnetic building sets, including the X-treme Combo, Micro, and Extreme sets. The sets contain 20 to 200 plastic building pieces and 20 to 100 1/2-inch diameter steel balls. The building pieces are red, yellow, blue and green, and are shaped in 1 1/2-inch squares, 1-inch triangles and cylinder rods. Some plastic building pieces have "Magnetix" imprinted on them.
The file
- Sold at
- Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, Fred Meyer, Design Science Toys Ltd., A.C. Moore, and other toy and arts and crafts stores nationwide. The Magnetix magnetic building sets were sold from September 2003 through March 2006 for between $20 and $60, depending on the size of the set. The replacement program does not include sets at retail.
- Product type
- Toy Play Sets/Activity Sets
- Made in
- China
- Recalled by
- Rose Art Industries Inc., of Livingston, N.J.
Incident log
CPSC is aware of 34 incidents involving small magnets, including one death and four serious injuries. A 20-month-old boy died after he swallowed magnets that twisted his small intestine and created a blockage. Three children ages ranging from 3 to 8 had intestinal perforations that required surgery and hospitalization in intensive care. A 5-year-old child aspirated two magnets that were surgically removed from his lung.
What the notice says to do
Consumers should stop using the magnetic sets and return the sets to Rose Art for a free replacement product suitable for young children under the age of 6. Consumers should be sure to keep all small magnet parts out of the hands of children who mouth objects, especially children under the age of three.
For additional information, contact Rose Art at (800) 779-7122 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit Rose Art's Web site at www.roseart.com
Recall notice published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. This site is independent: always confirm on the official notice before acting.
Notice first dated MAR 31 2006; last revised MAY 28 2024.

