McDonald's Fitness Trackers Removed From Happy Meal, Cause Irritation

It was reported just recently that McDonald's had included Step-It activity trackers from their Happy Meals. However, a new report was released saying that it is removing the fitness tracker due to concerns over skin irritations.

In a statement sent to CNN, company spokeswoman Terri Hickey said: "We are voluntarily removing the Step It! Activity Band Happy Meal toys in our restaurants in our United States and Canadian markets. It will no longer be offered as part of our Happy Meals. We have taken this swift and voluntary step after receiving limited reports of potential skin irritations that may be associated from wearing the band. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our customers and we are fully investigating this issue. Our restaurants are now offering our youngest guests an alternative Happy Meal toy."

The fast food company didn't exactly say how many reports it received of the tracker apparently causing skin irritations or if it would recall the trackers, as it did with 2.3 million Hello Kitty whistles after two children coughed up pieces. The Happy Meal toy was announced earlier this week and was set to be released and available for four weeks while McDonald's is having their big marketing push for the Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The company said that the trackers were released as part of a promotional campaign geared towards getting kids to be physically active. According to consumerist.com, Casey Collyar of Arkansas posted on Facebook last week that her child was burned by the Happy Meal toy after playing with it for eight minutes. Her post went viral and was shared more than 100,000 times. After voicing her concern on social media, Collyar received messages from other children saying that their children experienced the same irritations.

The fitness trackers, which came in six different colors, were already distributed in the United States and Canada, gizmodo.com reported. The plastic wrist-worn pedometer measures steps and blinks quickly or slowly depending on the pace of the person wearing it.