Wooden Clown Toys Recalled by BRIO
Kids’ product recall 98-024. Announced by CPSC on Nov 6, 1997.
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The short answer
Announced by CPSC on Nov 6, 1997. Copied from CPSC on Oct 19, 2026.
Every line below is in CPSC’s own words, with its source beside it.
What’s wrong with it?
Choking
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What should you do?
The notice gives no remedy in a field of its own.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Which ones are recalled?
Wooden Clown Toys Recalled by BRIO NEWS from CPSC U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 6, 1997 Release # 98-024 Company Phone Number: (888) 274-6869 CPSC Consumer Hotline: (800) 638-2772 CPSC Media Contact: Nychelle Fleming, (301) 504-7063 CPSC, BRIO Announce Recall of Wooden Clown Toys to Replace Hats WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), BRIO Corp. of Germantown, Wis., a subsidiary of BRIO AB of Sweden, is voluntarily replacing the hats on about 79,000 wooden clown toys. The hats present a potential choking hazard to young children. BRIO has received one report of a 22-month-old child in Germany reportedly choking to death on the clown’s hat. No other injuries or complaints have been reported. The clown is a 9-inch high wooden stacking toy consisting of 12 brightly colored pieces, including the base. When all of the pieces are stacked in order, the toy resembles the figure of a clown with a yellow cone-shaped hat. The words, “BRIO...MADE IN SWEDEN” are stamped on the bottom of the toy’s base. The toy is packaged in a red, white and yellow cardboard box. Pictures of the toy, model number 30130 and the words “BRIO...CLOWN” appear on the box. Specialty stores and mail order catalogs nationwide sold the toy from 1977 through September 1997, most recently for about $19. BRIO clown toys currently being sold have the redesigned hat and are in boxes labeled, “CONTAINS NEW HAT DESIGN.” Consumers should take the clown’s hat away from children immediately and send the hat to BRIO Corp., N120 W18485 Freistadt Road, Germantown, WI 53022. BRIO will send consumers a redesigned replacement hat and postage reimbursement. Consumers with questions should call BRIO toll-free at (888) 274-6869 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. CST Monday through Friday.
Brio wooden clown toys.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Who made and sold it?
- Made by BRIO / BRIO AB.
- Made in Sweden, as the notice gives it.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Was anyone hurt?
The notice doesn’t say whether anyone was hurt.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What the record doesn’t say
- The notice lists no UPCs, so check the model, the description and the photos.
- The notice lists no model numbers in a field of their own; its description may give them.
- How many have been returned or fixed isn’t in the notice.
Hearth Record wrote these lines.
Sources
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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Recalls API.
Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.
Recalls of kids’ and home products are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record. Copied on Oct 19, 2026.