Kellogg Co. has stopped shipping cereal boxes with Spider-Man 2 premiums to Connecticut under pressure from the state’s attorney general.
The Spidey-Signal toys have mercury batteries, which are illegal under Connecticut’s Mercury Reduction Act and the Child Protection Act. Kellogg also stopped shipments to New Hampshire to comply with that state’s environmental laws. Packages already on-shelf are being replaced now, says Kellogg spokesperson Celeste Clark.
Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal wrote Kellogg on June 30 asking the company to remove boxes of the nine cereal brands with the toy, a wristband that emits light in the shape of a web, spider, or Spider-Man foe Dr. Octopus. Frankel, Chicago, handles.
Kellogg chose non-removable batteries to limit choking hazards; Connecticut and New Hampshire law requires mercury batteries to be removable for disposal, Clark said.
Kellogg asked Connecticut retailers to return boxes with the toy, part of Kellogg’s tie-in with Spider-Man 2, its first-ever global theatrical promo. “Kellogg’s decision is a great victory for public health, environmental protection and Spider-Man’s good name,” said Blumenthal in a statement.
“We continue to believe it’s a great promotional idea tied to a great property,” said Clark. “The toy in no way affects the safety or quality of our food.”
Two other mail-in premiums, Spider-Man Voice-Activated software and Thin Skin Spider-Man Watch, don’t have mercury batteries and have not been challenged.
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