Dunecraft recalls Water Balz, Growing Skulls, Orbs and Flowers toys due to serious ingestion hazard

CLEVELAND - A Cleveland company that sells marble-sized growing toys in the U.S. and Canada has voluntarily recalled 94,700+ toys.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in cooperation with the Cleveland firm Dunecraft announced the voluntary recall of Water Balz, Growing Skulls, H2O Orbs "Despicable Me" and Fabulous Flowers on Monday.

Consumers are urged to stop using the products immediately.

The safety commission said when the marble-sized toy is ingested, it expands inside the body and causes a blockage in the small intestine, resulting in severe discomfort, vomiting, dehydration and could be life-threatening. The toys do not show up on an X-ray and require surgery to be removed.

Dunecraft company officials said it has received one report of an 8-month-old girl from Humble, Texas who ingested a Water Balz and suffered an intestinal obstruction in August 2011. The Water Balz had to be surgically removed.

The marble-sized toys absorb water and grow up to 400 times their original size. They were sold as Water Balz (round-shape), Growing Skulls (skull-shape), H2O Orbs "Despicable Me" (round-shape) and Fabulous Flowers (flower-shape). They were sold in packages of six in green, yellow, red, blue and black colors. "Dunecraft," the name of the toy and the model number are printed on the toy's packaging.

The recalled products were sold at Bed Bath & Beyond, Five Below, Hobby Lobby, Lakeshore Learning Materials, Microcenter, Urban Outfitters Direct, Wegmans and other stores nationwide, and online at amazon.com, incrediblescience.com, keyporthobbies.com, americantoystores.com and other websites from September 2010 through November 2012 for about $3 per package.

The H2O Orbs "Despicable Me" were sold exclusively at Universal Studios stores during June 2012 for about $3 per package. Fabulous Flowers were sold exclusively at Milaeger's in Racine, Wis. from June 2012 through November 2012 for about $3 per package.

You can contact Dunecraft for a free replacement toy at 1-800-306-4168, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or online at www.dunecraft.com . Click on the recall tab for more information.