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2.2 million bean bag chairs recalled after choking deaths

2.2 million bean bag chairs were recalled Friday following the deaths of two children in the US. The recalled bean bag chairs were sold at Wayfair, Walmart, and several other retailers.

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Courtesy of the CSPC
An example of one of the recalled beanbag chairs from Ace Bayou. The New Orleans-based company and the CSPC have recalled 2.2 million beanbag chairs that may pose a choking and suffocation hazard.

Furniture manufacturer Ace Bayou Corp. and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled 2.2 million bean bag chairs Friday after two children suffocated on the bags’ filling beads.

“The zippers on the bean bag chairs can be opened and children can then crawl inside, get trapped and suffocate or choke on the bean bag chair’s foam beads,”  the New Orleans-based company  and the CPSC said in the recall notice posted on the CPSC's website.  “The voluntary standard requires non-refillable bean bag chairs to have closed and permanently disabled zippers.”

The zipper problem is a recurrent one in bean bag chair manufacturing. The CPSC issued the zipper standard in 1995, after five choking deaths were reported. Consumer watchdog groups have warned of the issue for years since; in 2013, the Powell company recalled 6,300 of its Anywhere Lounger-brand bean bag chairs for the same problem. 

The recalled bean bag chairs have two zippers, one inner and one outer, that can be unzipped and opened. They are either round or L-shaped and come in a wide variety of colors, sizes, and fabrics. Colors included purple, violet, blue, red, pink, yellow, Kelly green, black, port, navy, lime, royal blue, turquoise, tangerine, and multi-color. Round bean bag chairs were sold in three sizes: 30, 32, and 40 inches in diameter. The L-shaped bean bag chairs are 18 inches wide, 30 inches deep, and 30 inches high. Both come in either fabric or vinyl casings.

The recalled products were manufactured before July 2013 and can be identified by a tag printed with “ACE BAYOU CORP” sewn in the chair’s cover seam.

According to the company, the chairs were sold at retailers Bon-Ton, Meijer, Pamida, School Specialty, Wayfair, and Walmart and online at amazon.com, Meijer.com, and Walmart.com.

“Consumers should check their bean bag chairs for any zippers that can open, take those that can open away from children immediately and contact Ace Bayou for a free repair kit to permanently disable the zippers so that they cannot be opened,” The CPSC release reads.

Consumers with questions can call Ace Bayou at (855) 751-8151 from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or online at www.acebayou.com and click on “Recall Information” or visit the release on the CPSC's website, here. 

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