One Of The Biggest Slow Cooker Recalls Of All Time Affected 2.6 Million Appliances

Some of the biggest food-related recalls in history involve companies pulling products due to bacterial contamination, foreign objects in food, or undeclared allergens. Less often, there are recalls involving products that cook food. This was the case in the early 2000s, when The Holmes Group, then-makers of the Rival Crock-Pot, voluntarily recalled around 2.6 million slow cookers after some of the handles on the products' bases began to snap off.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, a U.S. government agency that oversees consumer product safety, received 126 reports of handles breaking off the unit's base, with 33 people suffering burns from the hot food inside the slow cookers splashing out onto them. The recall began in August 2004 and initially involved 1.8 million slow cookers sold nationwide between 1999 and 2002. Less than a year later, the recall expanded to 2.6 million units and included various Crock-Pots made up to September 2004. Considering Rival Crock-Pots had by then become a household name in slow cookers, the massive recall came as a shock.

The original Rival Crock-Pot came out in 1971. While some consider slow cookers an overrated appliance today, it revolutionized cooking for many women who were juggling the demands of work and home life with seemingly no big issues with the product. Over the years, ownership of the brand changed hands several times. During the massive recall, the biggest to date, The Holmes Group had been the manufacturer for two years. Surprisingly, in the same month as the original recall in 2004, another company, Select Brands, voluntarily recalled nearly 40,000 Corningware slow cookers after it was discovered the heating element was liable to melt through the bottom, potentially causing fires or burns (no injuries were reported).

Even so, Crock-Pots' recall was much larger at 2.6 million units. The Holmes Group sent replacement bases where the faulty handles were located to all the customers with defective products. In 2020, Crock-Pot's newest owner, Newell Brands (producing the slow cookers under the Sunbeam label), voluntarily recalled nearly 1 million Crock-Pot 6-Quart Express Crock Multi-Cookers due to a defective lid that created a potential burn hazard — 99 customers reported burns. This was the last major recall. Today, Crock-Pot is still around, letting consumers continue to use a Crock-Pot like a pro and save time cooking.