Hug N’ Tug Baby Toy Recall Issued Due to Choking Hazard

About 45,300 Hug N’ Tug Puppy and Monkey toys are being pulled from store shelves after reports suggested that plastic beads may leak out and pose a potential risk for children if swallowed. 

The Hug N’ Tug recall was announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on December 20, after Sassy Inc. received at least 12 reports of beads coming out of the toys. The monkey toys are also sold by Carter’s, and are also covered by the recall, but there have been no reports of beads coming out of the Carter’s version of the product.

The CPSC warns that the beads could pose a choking hazard to young children. However, no injuries have been reported in connection to the beads.

The recall affects Hug N’ Tug Puppy and Hug N’ Tug Monkey toys sold under the Sassy and Carter’s labels. They are attached to strollers and car seats using a ring connector on the toy’s head. They are flexible, 12-inch tall, fabric covered toys with the face of a monkey or puppy and rattle because of beads inside a clear plastic sphere within the toys. The Sassy Hug N’ Tug Puppy has a model number of 80213; the Sassy Hug N’ Tug Monkey has a model number of 80214; and the Carter Hug N’ Tug Monkey has model numbers 61083 and 61540 and were sold on both blue and grey packaging cards.

The toys were sold at Toys R Us, Target, ad other mass merchandisers and independent specialty toys nationwide and were also sold online at Amazon.com and Carters.com between August 2011 and October 2012. The toys sold under the Sassy label cost $8 and the toys sold under the Carter’s label cost $14.

The CPSC recommends that consumers take the toys from children immediately and contact Sassy for instructions on how to receive a free replacement toy by calling (800)323-6336, or by visiting the company’s website at www.sassybaby.com.