The Popular McDonald's Happy Meal Toy Recalled For Burning Skin

Everyone seems to be longing for 2016 ever since ringing in the new year for 2026. Life was very different then: social media was more fun and the cultural zeitgeist leaned more on being carefree. But did you know that 2016 was also the year of fitness trackers? So much so, that even McDonald's banked on the wearable technology to sell more of its Happy Meals. While the fast-food chain's kid-focused meal typically came with toys, it opted to switch things up that year by giving out a fitness tracker called Step-It as part of the package. Surprisingly, the freebie ended up getting recalled after several customers complained about suffering skin irritation or burns from wearing it.

Step-It, a fitness band that counted steps, was available in two versions and six color options. The fast-food brand was alerted to the problem with the wearable wristbands after receiving multiple reports about customers getting burns and blisters on their wrists just by wearing them. "Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of our customers which is why upon learning about concerns with these bands we acted swiftly to stop distribution of these products," a McDonald's spokesperson said in a press release as part of the voluntary recall, which covered 29 million units released in the U.S. and 3.6 million units in Canada.

McDonald's is no stranger to recalls, but historically, the fast-food giant's product withdrawals have mostly been related to items on its menu. The issue with the Step-It fitness tracker was therefore unexpected. Nevertheless, the recall was warranted after the brand received over 70 reports documenting how kids developed burns after wearing the tracker. One mother from Arkansas even shared a PSA on Facebook showing the burn mark on her son's wrist after wearing his yellow Step-It for around 8 minutes. According to the concerned customer, the burn was likely caused by the red light inside the device that was powered by the battery.

As a Happy Meal freebie, Step-It was obviously designed to be a toy for kids, with its all-plastic body and wristband. There were two variants of the device, the Activity Counter and the Light-up Band. The former was considered a fitness tracker. It did not have other functions aside from counting steps. Its sole button on the front was for resetting the step counter. The device's built-in battery was not replaceable, so it likely did not fully switch off until it ran out of power. On the other hand, the Light-up Band was the version that simply lit up whenever the wearer moved. Considering fast food isn't healthy by any means, McDonald's decision to bundle fitness trackers with its Happy Meal could have been a smart move. Sadly, the supposedly functional toy was poorly designed, hence the recall.