Massive Recall of Tassimo Coffee Brewers After 10-Year-Old Burned, Hospitalized
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Stockbyte/Thinkstock(BETHESDA, Md.) — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada announced a recall of more than one million Tassimo Single-Cup Brewers after more than 100 reports of the brewers spraying hot liquid and burning users.
According to the CPSC, about 835,000 brewers in the U.S. and 900,000 in Canada are being recalled.
The Single-Cup Brewers use plastic T-Discs that are filled with coffee or tea to brew hot drinks. The product has been recalled after “140 reports of incidents with the brewers spraying hot liquid, coffee grounds or tea leaves onto consumers, including 37 reports of second-degree burns.”
In one incident, a 10-year-old girl was hospitalized in Minnesota with second-degree burns on her face and neck.
Halee Miller was making a cup of coffee with her grandmother using a Tassimo Single-Cup Brewer her mother purchased for the family for Christmas. All of a sudden, there was a funny noise and then an explosion. Halee was burned by coffee grinds that exploded on her face and neck.
Halee was rushed to the hospital, stabilized and then moved to the burn unit, where she underwent surgery and received synthetic skin grafting.
The incident happened more than a year ago. After finding “tons” of blog posts with similar complaints, Halee’s mother Susan Miller questioned why a recall had not come sooner.
“After it happened, we found tons of blogs about it online,” Miller said. “I don’t see why nothing was pulled off the shelf before now.”
But she said it’s better late than never.
“To see a child go through something like this over a defective appliance is really a sad situation,” Miller said. “I’m very happy to see they’re recalling it before anyone else gets hurt.”
“Millions of Americans enjoy starting their day by brewing a hot cup of coffee or tea,” CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said in a statement. “Being sprayed and burned by hot coffee grounds or tea leaves is something no one expects when standing near their brewer. I urge consumers to stop using these recalled T discs and respond to this important recall.”
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio