Lenten Campaign 2025
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The Consumer Public Safety Commission (CPSC) announced on March 13 a voluntary recall of a number of the popular “Chews Life” rosary teethers due to a defective clasp that could pose a choking hazard.
“This recall involves Chews Life Silicone Rosary teethers including models Assisi, Little Flower, God’s Grace, Cecilia, John the Baptist and Divine Mercy, and Chews Life Silicone Decades teethers including models Genesis, Maccabees, Ester, Wisdom, Divine Mercy, Psalm and Proverbs. The recalled teethers are made of multi-colored beads with a cross at the end. Each teether has a two-piece safety snap clasp,” said the recall notice.
Speaking to Aleteia, Shannon Wendt, founder and owner of Chews Life, said her company had been aware of the issue for months and had notified customers prior to the CPSC announcement. Chews Life is based in Michigan.
The clasp was used on a “really small percentage of our products” that were produced from January to April 2024, she said.
There were no injuries reported from the clasp breaking, she said. Chews Life filed the incident report themselves back in the fall to the CPSC and followed their recall process, she said.
“We’ve already been repairing lots of the affected rosaries for a couple of months,” she said.
Since the recall announcement was posted, Chews Life has been “fielding questions from obviously very concerned customers,” she said.
“But safety has always been a number one priority for us,” said Wendt. “We’re all Catholic moms, grandmas, and aunts. Having an injury or something is absolutely everybody’s worst nightmare.”
Each year, Chews Life has all of their designs safety tested by a third-party lab, said Wendt. “This is the first issue that we’ve had.”
Chews Life “goes above and beyond the letter of the law” and hand-inspects all of their rosaries in house, Wendt explained, and also uses a quality control team.
Patrons defend the brand
Wendt expressed frustration at the CPSC’s “vague” announcement, which prompted criticism in the comments section on Facebook asking why a parent would buy a rosary for a child in the first place.
But among Chews Life’s customer base, patrons are defending the brand.
“I'm really grateful for our customers,” said Wendt, noting that in some Facebook groups where the notice was shared, Chews Life had more supporters defending their products than detractors.
The customers “just seem to be really glad that we are on top of this and that we're taking this really seriously,” she said.
Anyone who owns one of the recalled teethers should stop using it and contact Chews Life to begin the free repair process.
