Health Canada has issued a recall for gummy bear-shaped Shein magnets
Consider buying real gummy bears instead
If you are a Shein shopper who recently purchased really small fridge magnets that look like gummy bears, you might want to know about a new Health Canada recall.
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“Health Canada’s sampling and evaluation program has determined that the magnets do not meet the performance criteria assessed for small powerful magnets set out in Table 3 of the general prohibitions under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act,” said a recall notice published this week.
The recall explained that the magnets, which are 1.1 centimetres in width and 1.8 centimetres in length, could be easily swallowed by small children.
“When more than one powerful magnet is swallowed in a short period of time, the magnets can attract one another while moving through the intestines. This can cause the intestines to twist, creating blockages or tearing of the intestinal walls,” it continued.
Shein has not received any reports of injury from Canadian consumers, but Health Canada advises people to throw the magnets away immediately.
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Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
