CPSC, Avon Products Inc. Announce Recall to Repair Jack-In-the-Box Toys

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #04528) was formally reported on December 29, 2003. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. The Learning Journey International, L.L.C., of Phoenix, Ariz. is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate 56,000 units are affected.

The documented reason for this recall is: A spring mechanism attached to the lid can break and detach from the toy, posing a choking hazard to young children. Distribution information was not included in the agency filing, so consumers should assume broad potential exposure until the firm publishes point-of-sale details. The remedy documented by the agency is: Call Avon for information on how to receive instructions to remove the spring mechanism. Known purchasers are being sent direct mail notification of this recall. — consumers holding this product should act on that instruction rather than relying on general guidance.

To put this record in context, PlainRecalls indexes 83,949 recalls across the FDA, CPSC, NHTSA and USDA FSIS going back to 1995. Within the same product category, the database holds 6 closely related recalls, of which 6 were also issued by CPSC. That clustering is a signal — repeated actions in a narrow category often indicate a systemic quality-control issue, a supplier-wide contamination, or a design defect that has propagated across product lines. This recall is roughly 23 years old; older recalls can remain relevant because many units enter resale, rental, and secondary-market channels where the original warning never reaches the end user. Always cross-check the recall number against the official agency page before relying on any summary.