More than 8 million Thermos products sold at Walmart, Target and online have recently been recalled after three people injured by the products reportedly permanently lost vision, according to a Thursday notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Included in the recall are an estimated 5.8 million Stainless King Food Jars and about 2.3 million Sportsman Food & Beverage Bottles made by Thermos. This Schaumburg, Ill.-based business specializes in containers for storing food and beverages.
“If perishable food or beverages are stored in the container for an extended period of time, the stopper can forcefully eject when opened, which can result in serious impact injury and laceration hazards to the consumer,” said the CPSC of the recalled Thermos items.
It said that Thermos has received 27 reports of consumers who were struck by a stopper that forcefully ejected from these containers upon opening. Some of the complaints said the products caused impact and laceration injuries requiring medical attention and three consumers suffered permanent vision loss after being struck in the eye, the CPSC added.
According to the commission, the impacted Thermos Stainless King Food Jars have model numbers SK3000 and SK3020 and were manufactured before July 2023. All Thermos Sportsman Food & Beverage Bottles with model number SK3010 are also part of the recall.
“The stopper of the recalled Food Jars and Food & Beverage Bottles does not have a pressure relief in the center,” the CPSC explained. “The containers were sold in a variety of colors in sizes.”
These include 16-ounce containers with model number SK3000, 24-ounce containers with model number SK3020 and 40-ounce containers with model number SK3010. Thermos trademarks can be found on the side of the products and the model numbers are printed on the bottom of the recalled containers.
Walmart, Target and other retailers carried the recalled products and they were also sold online through Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com and Thermos.com. Consumers would have purchased the items between approximately March 2008 and July 2024 for around $30.
Anyone with these products should stop using them, the CPSC said. To remedy the issues, Thermos is offering free replacement pressure relief stoppers or bottles, depending on the model. Consumers can contact the company for their replacements.
“For recalled 3000 and 3020 Food Jars, consumers will be asked to throw away the stopper and send a photo of the disposed stopper to Thermos,” the commission said. “For recalled 3010 Bottles, consumers will be asked to return their recalled Bottle to Thermos using a prepaid shipping label.”
Thermos can be reached online at https://support.thermos.com or via phone at 662-563-6822 from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.
