The US CPSC announced a serious air fryer burn hazard, warning American consumers who could purchase an air fryer from Target, Walmart, and Kohl's. The Consumer Product Safety Commission confirmed that the company behind the air fryer, Empower Brands, issued a voluntary recall that affected hundreds of thousands of units.
The consumer safety agency said Empower Brands started its recall on December 14 to protect consumers from the potential burn hazard. The specific model affected by the issue is the PowerXL Vortex Dual-Basket Air Fryers. If you own this, here's what you need to do and what you need to know about the recall and burn hazard.
CPSC Announces Serious Air Fryer Burn Hazard!
BEWARE: CPSC Announces Serious Air Fryer Burn Hazard! Mass Recall Affects Over 300,000 Units
The US CPSC explained that the burn hazard is caused by a faulty component, which is used to separate or combine two food baskets inside the air fryer.
Officials said that this part can break during usage, posing a serious burn hazard, which can harm or even endanger consumers' lives. CPSC said some owners already complained about getting burned because of the issue.
"The firm has received 41 reports of the product breaking during use, including three reports of burns," said the consumer safety organization via its recall report.
According to NBC 4 New York, the recall affected two versions of the PowerXl Vortex Dual-Basket Air Fryer because of the faulty component. These are the Black or cinnamon-colored 10-quart DUAF-10 and the Black or cinnamon-colored 9-quart DUAF-005.
The U.S. CPSC also provided the dimensions for the said models to help consumers easily identify them:
- 9-quart DUAF-005 model: 14 inches long by 13 inches wide by 15 inches tall, and weighs about 14 pounds.
- 10-quart DUAF-10 model: 17 inches long by 16 inches wide by 12 1/2 inches tall, and weighs about 14 1/2 pounds.
Read Also: Potential Coca-Cola Contamination Leads to Mass Recall; Diet Coke, Sprite, Fanta Orange Affected
What American Air Fryer Users Should Do
A hostess serves up french fries prepared in the Philips AirFryer, which uses no cooking oil, at the Philips stand at the 2010 IFA technology and consumer electronics trade fair at Messe Berlin on September 3, 2010 in Berlin, Germany.
If you are having difficulty identifying your air fryer's model, CPSC said that the PowerXL dual-basket air fryer has a silver label that states the appliance's name.
Aside from this, there's also a white label, which can be seen on the bottom of each unit. But, in some models, the label is located on the power cord that lists the model number.
As of writing, CPSC officials urge consumers to avoid using the mentioned air fryer models. What they need to do is contact Empower Brands so they can be assisted.
To do this, they can call the manufacturer's landline at 866-704-9370. The US CPSC said that consumers who purchased the faulty air fryers are eligible for a full refund of between $60 and $190, depending on the unit's model.
Related Article: Air Fryer Recall: If You Own These Air Fryers, Stop Using Them Now
