TORONTO, Ont. – Health Canada is warning parents, grandparents and people who look after small children to get rid of a popular old toy that is no longer considered safe.

The department said Fisher-Price Little People toys made before 1991 are a choking risk for small children and should be discarded in a way that ensures they aren’t re-used or resold.

The company changed the design of the popular toys in 1991 after hearing of seven deaths and one serious injury in children under three who had choked on the little figurines.

The newer style is chunkier and too big to descend into the throat of a young child.

Health Canada issued the warning after recently learning of a death of a 10-month-old child who had been playing with one of the old-style Little People toys.

The older toys are about two centimetres in diameter while the newer ones are about three centimetres in diameter as well as being taller and chunkier.