Freezer gel packs

• Copyright © 2012 by the American Academy of Pediatrics

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced the recall of the following products. Consumers should stop using recalled products unless otherwise instructed. Consumers can submit reports of harm to CPSC’s new searchable online product safety database at www.SaferProducts.gov. A searchable food and medical product recall database is available at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm.

Units: About 880,000 (about 248,000 units with lunch boxes and 55,000 with food carriers were recalled in January 2012)

Importer: California Innovations Inc., of Toronto, Canada

Hazard: If packs become damaged, they can leak gel that contains diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which cause illness if ingested in large amounts.

Description: Cryofreeze ice/hot packs and Arctic Zone ice packs are gel-filled plastic pouches with either transparent or opaque sealed wrappers. Packs were sold separately and with a variety of lunch boxes, coolers and thermal carriers.

Sold at: Mass merchandise and warehouse stores, other retailers, distributors and online sellers nationwide between July 2007 and December 2008 in items that retailed between $5 and $28.

Remedy: Contact local waste disposal authorities for disposal instructions. Contact California Innovations for a $6 cash refund for large (8.5 x 8 inches) Cryofreeze gel packs or a $5 cash refund for all other gel packs.

Contact: Call 800-722-2545, email ci-recall{at}ca-innovations.com or visit www.californiainnovations.com.