The risk of consumers sustaining burns has prompted a recall of hundreds of thousands of waffle makers by Wisconsin-based Empower Brands, according to a notice on the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) website.
The CPSC notice said the risk stems from the possibility that "hot pieces of the waffle or stuffing can be expelled from the waffle maker during use or upon opening the product." It was published Thursday.
Of the 44 incidents with the PowerXL Stuffed Waffilizers that the company has become aware of, 34 involved burns, according to the CPSC notice. Three of the people who suffered burns had to seek medical treatment.
The 456,000 recalled waffle makers fall under a pair of models, the five-inch ESWM02 and the seven-inch ESWM03. The recall covers all date codes for those models.
That information appears on the power cord’s tag, per the notice.
The CPSC notice said further usage of the affected waffle makers should not be attempted until the people who have them receive the part from Empower Brands that will fix the problem. The latch adaptor part will "release the latch when it recognizes a set internal pressure level," according to one of Empower Brands’ recall pages.
Sales of the impacted waffle makers occurred between July 2021 and October 2022, both in-store and online. (iStock / iStock)
"We stand behind our products, appreciate the trust our customers put in us and sincerely regret any inconvenience this may cause," the company also said.
Sales of the impacted waffle makers occurred between July 2021 and October 2022, both in-store and online. Retailers such as Walmart, Kohls, Target, Sam’s Club, Big Lots, Best Buy and others carried them in stores.
The waffle makers, manufactured in China, had a $30 to $60 price tag, according to the notice.