CPSC, Select Brands Inc. Announce Recall of Corningware Slow Cookers

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #04570) was formally reported on August 5, 2004. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. Select Brands Inc., of Lenexa, Kan. is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate About 39,000 units units are affected.

The documented reason for this recall is: The heating element can drop to the bottom of the unit and melt through the plastic outer shell, posing burn and fire hazards. 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 immediately stop using the product. Consumers will receive direct notification from Select Brands about receiving a free replacement base. — 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, of which 6 were also issued by CPSC. 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 22 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.