Federal officials have announced the recall of 2.2 million bean bag chairs after two children unzipped the chairs, climbed inside, and suffocated.
Both victims_a 13-year old boy from McKinney, Texas died and a 3-year-old girl from Lexington, Ky._were found inside the chairs, according to officials with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The children apparently had become trapped and choked on the chairs’ foam beads.
The chairs, which were manufactured by Ace Bayou Corp., of New Orleans, La., did not meet the industry’s voluntary safety standard, which requires non-refillable bean bag chairs to have closed and permanently disabled zippers, the commission said.
Friday’s recall affects bean bag chairs sold before July 2013 for between $30 and $100 at Bon-Ton, Meijer, Pamida, School Specialty, Wayfair and Walmart stores and online at Amazon.com, Meijer.com and Walmart.com.
The chairs, which were made in China, come in a variety of sizes and colors. “ACE BAYOU CORP” is printed on a tag on the bean bag chair’s cover seam.
Consumers should immediately remove any bean bag chairs with zippers that can open and keep them out of the reach of children. A free repair kit can be obtained from Ace Bayou. to permanently disable the zippers.
The company can be reached by calling (855) 751-8151 Monday through Friday or online at www.acebayou.com and click on “Recall Information.”