Several urgent product recalls have been issued by Irish shops and supermarkets so far in December.
A broad array of items, ranging from children's toys to food products and health supplements, are among the recalls.
Penneys, Boots, Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Smyths Toys, SuperValu, Lidl and other Irish shops and pharmacies have all removed products from their shelves this month.
Here are all the recalls which Irish shoppers should be aware of at the moment:
Penneys
Popular retailer Penneys is recalling a children's product over concerns it could cause harm to kids.
Primark, which operates as Penneys in Ireland, issued an urgent recall of their children’s wooden xylophone with mallet.
The company identified a safety issue with the affected items where there is a risk that small parts, the xylophone foot and ball at the top of the mallet, may become detached from the product.
This could be a potential choking and ingestion hazard, Penneys said.
The affected products were sold in Irish stores between May 8, 2021 and October 18, 2021.
The notice was issued by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on Wednesday.
People who purchased one of these products are advised to stop using them immediately and keep them out of reach of children.
They can then return it to any Penneys/Primark store where they will be offered a full refund.
Customers will not be required to provide proof of purchase.
Tesco and Smyths Toys
A popular baby product is being recalled from numerous stores across Ireland due to safety concerns.
Smyths Toys, Tesco Ireland, and Ken Black Toys are all recalling the Baby Clementoni Blooming Flower Senses Rattle.
Clementoni, which manufactures the rattle, notified stockists that there is a potential risk that the white decoration on the front of the toy may detach.
This could therefore present a choking risk for small children or possibly cause damage to the child’s digestive system.
The notice was issued by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in recent days.
There were approximately 2,100 affected products sold in Ireland to date through Smyths Toys, Tesco Ireland, and Ken Black Toys.
The affected products have EAN codes 8005125173266 and 8005125173600 and first went on sale from June 24, 2020.
People who think they may have purchased an affected product are advised to stop using it and to not allow children to play with it.
Consumers are also asked to return the product to the local store where it was purchased for a full refund.
Tesco
Tesco issued another recall earlier this month, this time for a food supplement sold in Irish stores.
The products include Pregnancy Support, Menopause Support, High Strength Vitamin B Complex and Turmeric & Vitamin D supplements.
The supermarket chain is removing the items from their shelves after the presence of chloroethanol, which is a recognised reaction product of ethylene oxide, was identified in the products.
Ethylene oxide is a pesticide that is not permitted for use in foods sold in the EU but is approved for use by other countries outside the EU.
The FSAI said although the consumption of the contaminated product does not pose an acute risk to health, there is an increased risk if there is continued consumption of the contaminated food over a long period of time.
Therefore, exposure to this substance needs to be minimised.
Point-of-sale recall notices will be displayed in Tesco stores supplied with the implicated batches.
Dunnes Stores and SuperValu
A popular brand is urgently recalling some of its products over the presence of an unauthorised pesticide.
Certain batches of Beeline food supplements are being recalled from the shelves of stores across Ireland.
The Effervescent Multivitamin + Minerals tablets and Vitamin D3 + Multivitamin Teenager tablets are among the products affected.
These are sold in a variety of Irish pharmacies nationwide and in supermarkets such as Dunnes Stores and SuperValu.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland issued the earlier in December after certain batches were found to contain the presence of the unauthorised pesticide ethylene oxide.
The Beeline Effervescent Multivitamin + Minerals tablets being recalled have a lot number of 012181QY, while the Vitamin D3 + Multivitamin Teenager tablets have the 012101Q3 lot number.
Boots
Boots is recalling 31 products from its Irish stores over safety concerns.
The items are supplements including food, pregnancy, breastfeeding and conception supplements, as well as a variety of vitamins.
The pharmacy chain is removing the products from their stores due to the presence of a substance that is reactive to a pesticide.
2-chloroethanol, which is a recognised reaction product of ethylene oxide, was detected in the products.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland issued the alert in early December.
Point-of-sale recall notices will be displayed in Boots stores supplied with the implicated batches across Ireland.
