Recalls

How recall notices are posted and how to check a toy you already own.

A recall is a notice issued after a product is already on sale — the maker and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announce that a specific product has a hazard, and state what owners should do about it. That “after sale” part is why recall-checking is a habit, not a one-time step: a toy that was fine when you bought it can be recalled months later, and a hand-me-down can arrive already recalled.

A recall names a model, not a brand

Matching is model-level. A recall covering one item from a brand says nothing about that brand’s other items — and a clean brand name says nothing about the one item you hold. Two cases already on this site show the distinction: CPSC recall 23-210 covers Janod Sweet Cocoon activity tables J04402/J04411, not the J04410 trolley listed here; and the HABA “Rainbow Rattle” recall 26-719 is a different HABA item from the HABA products on the list. Check the exact model, every time.

The 2-minute check

  • Identify it exactly. Maker, product name, model and batch markings — from the packaging, the receipt, or the CPSIA tracking label on the toy itself (maker, production date and location, batch). No tracking label means a toy you cannot recall-check precisely; for under-3 use, that is a fail by itself (see the Used & Secondhand resource).
  • Search both official sources. cpsc.gov/Recalls and SaferProducts.gov — about two minutes per toy. SaferProducts also carries consumer incident reports, so it can surface a problem before a formal recall exists.
  • Compare the notice against your item. Model numbers, production dates, and batch codes in the notice are the match — not the product photo, which may show a near-identical sibling model. If the notice’s identifiers do not cover your item, it is not your recall.
  • If it matches: stop using it, then follow the remedy in the notice. Notices state the remedy — repair, replacement, or refund — and how to claim it from the maker. Do not resell or give away a recalled product; selling or giving away a recalled product is illegal, so a listing for one is a red flag about the seller generally.
  • If you find a hazard, report it. SaferProducts.gov takes hazard reports from anyone, and the CPSC Hotline takes recall questions and hazard reports at 800-638-2772. A report is how the next recall starts.

When to re-check

At purchase is not enough. Re-check when a toy changes hands (hand-me-downs, Marketplace buys — the full sequence is in the Used & Secondhand resource), when your child reaches a new milestone and plays harder with it, and whenever you hear of a recall in the same product line. Keep the model and batch information somewhere you can find it later — a photo of the tracking label and the receipt together takes seconds and is what makes a future check possible.

What this site does — and plans to do

Product records on this site carry a UPC (primary) and model (secondary) field — both often empty for now — so listings can be matched against recall data more reliably as those fields fill in. On the roadmap, not live yet: a weekly cross-check of listed products against recall sources, with Health Canada’s recall feed as a second source. Any cross-check result is human-reviewed before anything publishes; nothing auto-flags a product, and a fuzzy match never earns a badge on its own. Toys this site has looked at and not listed, including a recalled one, are on the record in Considered and rejected.

Guidance drawn from CPSC recall notices and the Safe Toys list research, October 2026. General information only — not medical advice, and not a replacement for your pediatrician.