A Middleton, Wisconsin-based home goods supplier is recalling 319,000 air fryers over concerns that a component of the appliances could “break during use, posing a burn hazard,” the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has said.
In an announcement on Thursday, Empower Brands LLC said two models of their PowerXL-branded dual basket air fryers, in black and cinnamon colors, had an optional plastic connector that can be used to join two baskets together into one large, single basket that could be a fire risk.
The company said it had received 41 reports from consumers of the product breaking during use, of which three led to burns.
“Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled dual basket air fryers and contact Empower Brands to receive a full refund,” the CPSC warned.
Newsweek approached Spectrum Brands, the Fortune 500 company which owns Empower Brands as a subsidiary, via phone for comment on Friday.
CPSC
The CPSC said the models—PowerXL’s DUAF-10 and DUAF-005 Vortex air fryers—had been sold at several nationwide chain stores, including Target, Walmart and Kohl’s, from August 2021 to October 2023, and retailed for between $60 and $190 depending on the model.
The Chinese-manufactured appliances range from 17 inches long, 16 inches wide and 12.5 inches tall for the DUAF-10 model, to 14 inches long, 13 inches wide and 15 inches tall for the DUAF-005 model. Both weigh around 14 pounds.
Spectrum Brands also owns other household brands including Russell Hobbs, George Foreman and Black+Decker.
It is not the first time Empower Brands has had to issue a recall over a potential burn hazard for one of its products.
In May, the company recalled 456,000 PowerXL electric waffle irons after discovering that hot pieces of waffle or stuffing could be “expelled from the waffle maker during use or upon opening the product.”
It said at the time that it had received 44 reports of such incidents, 34 of which included burn injuries and three which required medical attention. It offered consumers a free latch adaptor and written instruction on how to repair the appliance.
In June, Empower Brands was forced to recall 469,000 PowerXL self-cleaning juicers in the U.S. and a further 10,900 sold in Canada after they were found to rupture during use, “striking consumers and posing a laceration hazard,” or leaving small shavings in juice.
It said it was aware of 261 such incidents, including 47 which led to injuries, “some of which involved severe cuts requiring emergency treatment, stitches, bruises and ingestion of small particles requiring medical attention.”
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