Thursday, March 1, 2018
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The manufacturer of Instant Pot is officially recalling one of its multicookers because of a defect that can cause the product to overheat and melt on the underside, posing a fire hazard.
The recalled Instant Pot is the Gem 65 8-in-1 model multicooker, with a batchcode of 1728, 1730, 1731, 1734 or 1746 printed on the rating label on the underside of the product. An estimated 104,000 units are affected by the recall. The products are sold exclusively at Walmart.
Last week, Instant Pot posted a Facebook message that said it had received a “small number of reports” about the overheating and advised people to stop using the specified products. It said it was working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and would eventually provide more information about next steps.
Following that message from the company, Consumers Union, the advocacy division of Consumer Reports, urged Instant Pot to provide consumers with more specific instructions, and, if the issue turned out to be a safety defect, to quickly issue a recall.
William Wallace, senior policy analyst for Consumers Union, said, “If you have an Instant Pot, you should check the number on the bottom of the pot to see if yours has been recalled. Anyone with a recalled Instant Pot should stop using it immediately, unplug it, and take it back to Walmart for a free replacement.
“Now that the maker of Instant Pot has announced a formal recall, more people should get the information they need about the problem and the specific steps they need to take to stay safe. At the same time, the company should investigate whether safety issues are limited to just the recalled products—and if there are other products affected, it should expand its recall and its warnings to consumers.”
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Contact: David Butler, dbutler@consumer.org,
Consumer Reports is the world’s largest independent product-testing organization. Using its more than 50 labs, auto test center, and survey research center, the nonprofit rates thousands of products and services annually. Consumers Union works for health reform, food and product safety, financial reform, and other consumer issues in Washington, D.C., the states, and in the marketplace.