CPSC, Appliance Manufacturers Announce Voluntary Recall Initiative for Old Chest Freezers - A Deadly Play Area for Children

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #01016) was formally reported on October 24, 2000. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) and its refrigerator/freezer manufacturing members is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate Up to 9 million units are affected.

The documented reason for this recall is: Although some manufacturers had freezers that were in compliance prior to the 1970 standards, most old chest freezers have latches that can trap a child. Children playing "hide-and-seek" have found the non-working freez… Distribution information was not included in the agency filing, so consumers should assume broad potential exposure until the firm publishes point-of-sale details. The remedy documented by the agency is: Consumers should properly dispose of these non-working freezers immediately or disable the latch, if disposal is impossible. Even if a consumer has a pre-1970 chest freezer that is working, they shou… — consumers holding this product should act on that instruction rather than relying on general guidance.

To put this record in context, PlainRecalls indexes 83,949 recalls across the FDA, CPSC, NHTSA and USDA FSIS going back to 1995. Within the same product category, the database holds 6 closely related recalls. That clustering is a signal — repeated actions in a narrow category often indicate a systemic quality-control issue, a supplier-wide contamination, or a design defect that has propagated across product lines. This recall is roughly 26 years old; older recalls can remain relevant because many units enter resale, rental, and secondary-market channels where the original warning never reaches the end user. Always cross-check the recall number against the official agency page before relying on any summary.