Contigo recalled kid water bottles for choking hazard. The fix failed.

Philadelphia--Last fall Sara McCaffrey was driving down the road in New Jersey with her two children in the back of the car. When she looked back in the rear view mirror something startled her: the silicone spout on his water bottle had detached from the cup and was in his mouth.

She pulled over to dig the choking hazard out of his mouth. It would have been easy for it to become lodged in his throat, cause him to choke. 

Her experience wasn’t unique. The manufacturer, Contigo, had received 149 similar complaints about their Contigo Kids Cleanable Water Bottles. Those complaints lead to a nationwide recall of 5.7 million of these water bottles a few weeks prior to Sara’s experience in And a recall had been issued about two weeks prior to Sara’s experience.

Now the company is recalling the fixed lids because of more than 400 new complaints, including 29 where the tips were found in children’s mouths. No injuries were reported.

CPSC.gov

The original water bottle was sold at Costco, Walmart, Target and other online outlets according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

With so many complaints and a clear hazard, the CPSC recommends consumers immediately stop using the water bottles even if they have the replacement lids. 

 “Take them away from children,” they wrote.

Small parts are regulated because of the potential risk to causing choking among children, who may not be able or know how to take appropriate action when they encounter small pieces. In this case, the concern is even greater as the detaching spout is intended to be in the mouth, meaning a child could accidentally swallow it.

While testing would not help in this case, it can help protect your kids from other choking hazards.

And while the recall system often successfully removes dangerous products from store shelves, it struggles to communicate recall information to consumers.  In Sara’s case, the recall occurred weeks prior to her kid’s almost-choking experience. But, she only heard about the recall after it was shared on a popular parents listserve in Southern New Jersey.

Recalls tend to rely on media coverage from major media outlets to notify the public, but retailers could do more. In some cases they have contact information for customers or could use their marketing prowess to warn the public.