On April 9, dietary supplement contract manufacturer Vitaquest International (West Caldwell, NJ) voluntarily recalled  356,140 iron supplements from various brands (Recall No. 26-386).

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), iron supplements are required to be in child-resistant packaging as per the Poison Prevention Packaging Act. However, the packaging of the affected supplements was not child-resistant, posing a serious risk of injury or death if ingested by young children.

Vitaquest stated there have been no reported incidents or injuries, and that the only issue is with the packaging. There are no issues with the product formulation, ingredient quality, etc. The affected products were sold through retail stores, online retailers and medical practitioners. Vitaquest is offering free child-resistant replacement caps or storage pouches depending on the product.

“In partnership with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), we are voluntarily recalling certain lots of iron-containing products that do not have child-resistant packaging as required by CPSC. Child-resistant packaging on these types of products is intended to ensure that young children do not accidentally ingest an amount of the product that could cause iron poisoning,” Vitaquest wrote in a statement. “In short, while the product formulation and iron content are safe when used as directed, we are conducting this recall to protect young children from the risk that they will get access to the products and ingest more than directed.”

For more information, call (844) 298-4545, email [email protected], or visit www.vitaquest.com/product-recall-information.