Consumers should immediately stop using this magnetic game due to ingestion risks, agency warns

NEW YORK — The Consumer Product and Safety Commission is warning people to immediately dispose of a magnetic game because it poses serious ingestion risks for children.

The CPSC posted a warning Thursday that “Magnetic Chess Games” sold by China-based seller JOMO contain magnets that do not comply with U.S. federal safety regulations. As a result, the “loose, hazardous magnets pose a risk of serious injury or death,” according to the warning.

The CPSC said it issued a violation notice to JOMO, but that the company has not agreed to recall its Magnetic Chess Games or provide a remedy. The commission urged people to stop using the game and throw it away immediately.

The games were sold online at walmart.com in a blue box with the word “Magnetic” on the front and back, according to the CPSC. They include about 20 loose black magnets but not chess-shaped pieces, despite its marketing.

It's unclear when or how long these games were sold. A CPSC spokesperson said the commission could not provide further information since JOMO is not cooperating.

A Walmart spokesperson said customers' health and safety are the company's top priority and that it began working to remove the games soon after the CPSC warning was issued Thursday.

Experts have long noted the serious health hazards tied to swallowing magnets, with children particularly at risk. When high-powered magnets are ingested, the CPSC noted, they can attract each other or another metal object in the body and become lodged in the digestive system — potentially resulting in blockage, infection, blood poisoning or death.

Overall, the CPSC estimates a total of 2,400 magnet ingestions were treated in hospitals annually between 2017 and 2021. The commission said it is aware of eight related deaths from 2005 through 2021, two of which were outside the U.S.