7.5M 'Baby Shark' bath toys recalled over 'impalement' risk to children

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The recalled Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Sing & Swim Bath Toy in yellow and pink. (Credit: CPSC)

Millions of "Baby Shark" bath toys have been recalled after a dozen reports of children suffering injuries, including impalement, lacerations and puncture wounds, from the miniature shark’s hard plastic fin.

The recall impacts 7.5 million full-size Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Sing & Swim bath toys and Mini Baby Shark Swimming bath toys, according to a notice posted Thursday by the U.S. ConsumerProduct Safety Commission.

The recalled full-size Baby Shark bath toys sing and swim when placed in water.

"When using the recalled bath toys, particularly in a bathtub or wading pool, a child can slip and fall or sit onto the hard plastic top fin of the shark, posing risks of impalement, lacerations and punctures," the agency said.

There have been 12 reports of children falling or sitting onto the recalled full-size bath toy, resulting in injuries, the CPSC said. Nine of the incidents required stitches or medical attention.

There have been no reported incidents or injuries involving the Mini Baby Shark bath toys, the agency said.

The bath toys were sold at stores nationwide, including Walmart, CVS Pharmacy, Dollar General, Family Dollar, HEB Grocery Company, Meijer, Target, TJX Companies, Ross, and Walgreens, as well as online at www.amazon.com and other websites.

The full-size Baby Shark bath toys were sold between May 2019 and March 2023 for between $13 and $15. The Mini Baby Shark bath toys were sold individually and in multi-unit packs from July 2020 through June 2023 for between $6 and $20.

The recalled Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Sing & Swim Bath Toy 3-pack pictured in a provided image. (Credit: CPSC)

Details on Baby Shark bath toy recall

The recalled full-size Baby Shark bath toys have a hard plastic top fin with three grooves on one side, measure about 7-inches from nose to tail and were sold in three colors: yellow, pink and blue. They were sold individually and in packs of three, according to the notice.

The recalled full-size toys have three grooves on one side of the hard plastic top fin. (Credit: CPSC)

The recalled full-size bath toys have tracking label information on the bottom, including raised lettering that states model number "#25282" and a date code beginning with the letters "DG" followed by "YYYY/MM/DD" in the date range DG20190501 through DG20220619.

Only full-size Baby Shark toys with a hard plastic top fin are included in the recall.

Date code in "DGYYYY/MM/DD" format and in the date code range of DG20190501 through DG20220619 and model number "#25282" are located on the bottom of the recalled full-size toys. (Credit: CPSC)

The recalled Mini Baby Shark bath toys swim when placed in water, but do not sing, according to CPSC. They have a hard plastic top fin, measure about 4-inches from nose to tail and were sold in three colors: yellow, pink and blue. They were sold individually, in packs of two or three, and as part of a Baby Shark Music Water Park playset.

The recalled mini-size bath toys have tracking label information on the bottom, including raised lettering that states model numbers "#7163," "#7175," "#7166," or "#25291" and a date code beginning with the letters "DG" followed by "YYYY/MM/DD" in the date range DG2020615 through DG2023525.

Customers were asked to "immediately" stop using the recalled bath toys and contact Zuru for a full refund of $14 for each full-size bath toy or $6 for each mini-size bath toy, in the form of a prepaid virtual Mastercard.

"Consumers should disable the tail fin (by cutting it on the full-size bath toy or by bending it on the mini-size bath toy), mark the body of the shark bath toy with the word "recalled" and the unique code provided during registration for the recall, then upload a photo of the product, showing it is disabled and marked, at https://www.recallrtr.com/bathshark," the notice stated.

"Upon receipt of the photo, Zuru will issue a refund to purchasers."

This story was reported from Cincinnati.