Toddler sippy bottles and cups sold nationwide pose lead-poisoning risk

Green Sprouts is recalling thousands of stainless steel bottles and sippy cups sold nationwide because the base of the products can break off, posing a lead-poisoning risk to children. The recall is among half a dozen in November involving lead-tainted toys, clothing and other products for kids. 

The Asheville, North Carolina, company has received seven reports of the bottles' base breaking off, exposing a solder dot containing lead, which is toxic if ingested by young children, according to the recall notice posted on Friday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. No injuries were reported.

The recall comes on the heels of a recent report by U.S. PIRG that found a high number of recalled products still on the market, "including children's products recalled for lead — a toxic substance banned since the 1970s," Dev Gowda, assistant director of Kids in Danger, stated in a release earlier this month.

Lead-based paints were banned for residential use in the U.S. in 1978, and no level of lead is considered safe in children, with even low levels in the blood hurting a child's ability to learn, pay attention and do well in school, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Still, children's products are recalled due to lead with alarming frequency. The Bentex Group of New York last week recalled Disney-themed children's clothing sets because of lead in the textile ink on the Egyptian-manufactured garments, which sold at TJ Maxx and Amazon.com. 

The sippy cups and Mickey Mouse-adorned clothes were among half a dozen recalls of children's products for containing lead. Other products recalled due to the toxin include butterfly nets and children's scooters, all of which were manufactured in China. 

The Green Sprouts recall involves about 10,500 cups and bottles sold at Buy Buy Baby and Whole Foods stores nationwide and online at amazon.com, buybuybaby.com and bedbathandbeyond.com from January 2020 through September 2022 for between $14 and $19, according to the CPSC release. 

The products were also sold online at babyhaven.com, drugstore.com and target.com, according to a separate release issued by Green Sprouts.

Consumers were urged to take the recalled products away from children and discard them, while contacting Green Sprouts for a refund or store credit. The company can be reached at 800-876-1574 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or by email at ContactUs@GreenSprouts.com. It can also be reached online here.

The recall involves the following three made-in China products with one of the following tracking numbers on the bottom of the base: 29218V06985, 35719V06985, and 33020V06985: 

6-ounce Sprout Ware Sippy Cup

6-ounce Sprout Ware Sip & Straw Cup

8-ounce Sprout Ware Straw Bottle

"As we approach the redesign of these products, whose benefits for keeping drinks cold safely have made them a popular choice for parents, we will ensure that lead is not used as a soldering material," Green Sprouts stated in a separate release. 

The company encouraged customers to continue using the recalled product's plant-plastic and silicone lid and spout with other Green Sprouts cups and bottles, while discarding the stainless-steel components by putting them in the trash.