Zuru Baby Shark toy recall: 7.5 million bath toys recalled after they cut or stabbed children

Kiwi company Zuru's full-sized Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Sing & Swim Bath Toys have been recalled. Photo / AP

About 7.5 million singing and swimming “Baby Shark” bath toys are being recalled after multiple lacerations and puncture wounds were reported in children playing with them.

Zuru, an El Segundo, California-based toymaker, founded by Kiwi brothers Nick and Mat Mowbray, said it’s recalling both full-size and mini versions of its robotic baby shark toys that have hard plastic top fins, which pose injury risks.

Nick Mowbray's Zuru, which quickly rose to a global operation off the back of Chinese manufacturing, hit a snag in 2020 when expanding from toys into healthcare. Photo / supplied.

Twelve injuries have already been reported with Zuru’s full-sized Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Sing & Swim Bath Toys — after children sat or fell on the now-recalled products. Nine of these cases required stitches or medical attention, according to a Thursday release from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

While injuries have only been reported with these full-sized toys so far, Zuru is also recalling Robo Alive Junior Mini Baby Shark Swimming Bath Toys “out of an abundance of caution.”

Consumers in possession of the recalled toys are instructed to stop using them immediately and contact Zuru for a full refund. To get the refund, customers are asked to cut off or bend the tail fin, write “recalled” and a registration code on the body of the baby shark and upload a photo on a site dedicated to the recall.

The recalled products can be identified by model numbers and date codes. Zuru’s Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Sing & Swim Bath Toys and Robo Alive Junior Mini Baby Shark Swimming Bath Toys were sold in-person and online at chains including Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreens and TJX Companies from May 2019 through March 2023.

In a company announcement, Zuru noted that the recall only impacts the versions of the baby shark toys with a hard plastic fin. The newest toys, which have a silicone fin, are not part of the recall, Zuru said.

“We want to assure our customers that we are committed to the highest levels of safety and quality of all our products, and we have implemented measures to prevent future incidents by working to promptly remove these products from retail and replace them with a newly designed product,” Zuru wrote.