Safety Recall Issued for Children’s Bike Seats Due to Choking Hazard

Health Canada has issued a nationwide recall for a brand of children’s bicycle seats because the harness strap’s label poses a potential choking hazard.

Customers who purchased the Norway-manufactured Hamax Buddy child seat between January 2022 and August 2026 from Montreal distributor Décathlon Canada Inc. are urged to stop using the product immediately and remove the textile label from the harness strap, the federal agency said in a recent public advisory.

Once users have removed the label, the child bicycle seat can continue to be used as intended.

“This child bicycle seat is designed for bicycles that do not have a rear luggage rack, allowing installation on certain mountain and hybrid bicycles,” the health agency’s website said. “Consumers must verify product compatibility with their bicycle’s frame tube diameter prior to use.”

Customers who purchased the Hamax Buddy child seat—3,218 were sold in Canada—should check for the reference number, which is either 4091054 or 8591602.  

Health Canada said the harness strap label of the child bicycle seat may detach, posing a choking hazard if a child puts the detached label in their mouth. As of Oct. 20, the company had received no reports of incidents or injuries in Canada.

The agency encouraged customers to contact Décathlon Canada Inc. by telephone at 1-844-533-3322 or by email at onlineservice@decathlon.ca. It also said that the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act prohibited recalled products from being redistributed, sold, or given away in Canada.

Health Canada has recently recalled other children-related items, including Flintstones vitamins, Claritin, and Aleve, after companies restocked returned items and sent them to wholesale retailers in error.

The recalled Flintstones Complete Multivitamins and Minerals tablets can be identified by looking for the lot number, NAAEXKW, on the packaging. 

The affected Aleve and Claritin batches can be identified by their lot numbers and specific dosage strengths: Aleve formulated at 200 milligrams with lot number NAAEWF2, and Claritin formulated at 10 milligrams with lot number NAAF0TW.

Health Canada categorized the recall as Type III, the lowest-risk category of the three-tier classification system. It signified that consuming the product posed a low risk of adverse health effects.

Health Canada also issued a recall notice in July for the Vevor 4-in-1 baby walker, which was sold on Wayfair.ca, an online homeware retailer based in the United States. Canada has had a two-decade ban on such products because it classifies them as a “physical hazard.”

Health Canada said that 38 units of the affected products were sold in Canada between April and June. It noted that the manufacturer had not received any injury reports as of June 26.

Canada was the first country to implement a ban on the sale, advertising, and import of baby walkers, citing a significant number of injuries among children caused by the devices.

Jennifer Cowan contributed to this report.