BRITA Children’s Water Bottle Recall Issued Due to Laceration Hazard

Brita is recalling about 242,500 popular cartoon icon water bottles, after receiving reports that suggest the hard plastic lids may be prone to breaking or cracking, posing a laceration and choking hazard to children. 

The Brita children’s water bottle recall was announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on August 19, following at least 35 reports of problems with the cracking or breaking into sharp pieces that could cause lacerations to the lips.

The bottles may pose a laceration hazard to children while they are drinking from the bottles, but could also cut adults and caregivers if the hard plastic cracks while washing the lids. In addition to laceration hazards, the bottles may also pose a choking hazard if a sharp piece of plastic breaks off while the child is drinking from the bottle.

The recall includes four designs of Brita’s hard-sided water filter bottles for children that stand about 6 inches tall and hold 15 ounces of liquid. The cartoon bottles and colors included in the recall are violet Dora the Explorer cups with UPC code 60258-35883, pink Hello Kitty cups with UPC Code 60258-35914, blue SpongeBob Square Pants cups with UPC Code 60258-35880, and green Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cups with UPC Code 60258-35882. The plastic bottles were sold with white plastic screw-off lids, a fold-up straw, and filters that sit inside the straw below the lid. In addition to the cartoon characters each bottle bears the BRITA logo.

The recalled cartoon bottles were manufactured in Mexico under BRITA LP, of Oakland, California. They were sold at Walmart, Target, Alaska Housewares, Associated Food Stores, Bartell Drug, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Quidsi, Royal Ahold, Shopko, US Navy Exchange, and online at Amazon.com, Drugstore.com, and Target.com.

The Hello Kitty bottles were sold from February 2014 through July 2014 and the Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob Square Pants, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bottles were sold from June 2013 through July 2014, all for about $13 to $19.

The CPSC recommends that customers stop using the recalled bottles immediately and contact Brita at 800-926-2065 or visit them online at www.brita.com and navigate to the “Safety Recall” link for information on how to obtain a pre-paid shipping package to return the bottles for a full refund.