Igloo Recalls Marine Coolers Due to Entrapment and Suffocation Hazards

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #19117) was formally reported on May 8, 2019. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. Igloo Products Corp., of Katy, Texas is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate About 60,000 units are affected.

The documented reason for this recall is: The cooler's stainless-steel latch can automatically lock when the lid is closed, allowing a person to become locked inside the air tight container, posing entrapment and suffocation 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 put the coolers out of the reach of children. Contact Igloo for instructions on removing and disposing of the old latch and for a free replacement latch. — 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 7 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.