Zéfal issues voluntary recall of Little Z bicycle bottles for children

Zéfal has issued a voluntary recall of its Little Z bicycle bottles for children.

The brand has identified that some of its bicycle bottles for children do not always meet its high quality and safety standards. “Tests show that in rare cases the push-pull valve may detach too easily,” a statement read.

“There is a choking hazard in case the push-pull valve would detach while drinking. However, to date, we are not aware of any incidents or detaching valves. Nevertheless, since the affected bottles were specifically designed for children, out of an abundance of caution we have decided to voluntarily undertake a recall of the affected bottles.”

The affected bottles were sold between January 2017 and January 2022 in a variety of prints and colours. All affected models are branded ‘Zefal’ on the bottom of the bottle and are recognisable as children bottles, with a height of 158mm and a filling capacity of 350ml.

A letter for stores to share with customers can be found here, and a poster to display for customers to read can be found here.

In a statement, distributor Bob Elliot & Co asked stores to take the following actions:
1. Please check your stock immediately and stop selling any affected Zefal bottle. For a refund of your affected stock, please send only the caps of the bottles to Bob Elliot & Co/the sales rep next time you see them.
2. Please throw away the container of the bottle in an environmentally friendly manner. The bottles are fully recyclable.
3. If you have a record of the customers you have sold affected Zefal bottles to, please contact them directly to inform them of this issue.
4. In case you deem it useful, please print and hang a poster with details of this recall on a visible spot in your shop.

Zéfal is asking for a consumer to send back caps directly to them in France for a refund, but Bob Elliot & Co says it knows this won’t be feasible for many. For those who wish to collect them from customers and send them back to the distributor (as per point one above), Bob Elliot & Co says it will arrange to issue a refund for the cost when received back.

Zéfal is also distributed by Chicken CycleKit, which added that should any customer be unsure if their bottle is one of the bottles concerned with the voluntary recall, please contact the distributor or Zefal directly. There is a return process in place making sure the customer is not paying for the shipment of their returning bottle cap.

Chicken CycleKit has also reiterated that, to date, they and Zéfal are not aware of any incidents or detaching valves.