Mega Brands recalls toys

Canadian toy company Mega Brands is recalling over a million toys after several reports of children swallowing small magnets which came loose.

Shares in Mega Brands, which makes snap-together blocks, dropped 12 per cent on Monday following the news.

The company is recalling Magtastik and Magnetix Jr, after receiving 19 reports of magnets coming loose, including one report of a three-year-old boy receiving medical treatment to remove a magnet from his nasal cavity and one report of an 18-month-old boy with a magnet in his mouth, which was not swallowed.

If more than one magnet is swallowed, the magnets can attract each other and cause intestinal injuries.

Mega Brands had recalled its Magnetix toys in 2006 and expanded the recall in 2007, when a child died and 27 others were injured after swallowing the magnets.

The toys, which are manufactured in China, are priced at between $10 and $40 in US stores.

The Montreal-based company said it is co-operating with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission in the voluntary recall.