October 17, 2002 - WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), IKEA, of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., is voluntarily recalling 57,000 stuffed teddy bears. The plastic beads inside of the bears could come out of the seams, posing an aspiration hazard to young children who could inhale the small beads.

IKEA has not received any report of incidents. This recall is being conducted to prevent the possibility of injuries.

The recalled SNUTTIG Bear Soft Toys are red, yellow, blue and black and are about six inches tall. The bears have a contrasting color on the nose, ears, and feet. The name "SNUTTIG," the model number 700- 371-56, the manufacturer code 17596 and the words "Made in Indonesia" are all printed on the product label.

IKEA stores nationwide sold the bears from August 2001 through September 2002 for about $2.

Consumers should take these bears away from young children immediately and return them to an IKEA store for a $5 gift card towards another IKEA product. For more information, consumers should contact IKEA at (888) 966-4532) anytime or visit the company's website at www.ikea-usa.com.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC's web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC's web site at www.cpsc.gov.