Almost 2 million Yeti brand products are being recalled because of a safety issue.
The company announced on its website that it is voluntarily recalling four coolers and soft gear cases — the Hopper M30 Soft Cooler 1.0 and 2.0, Hopper M20 Soft Backpack Cooler, and SideKick Dry Gear Case.
The products being recalled were sold between March 2018 and January 2023.
#Recall: Yeti recalls about 1.9 million coolers and gear cases. Closure can fail, resulting in detached magnets; risk of injury or death if ingested. Refund or replacement. CONTACT: 833-444-3151, productrecall@yeti.com. Full recall notice: https://t.co/GcXFJNOLwQ pic.twitter.com/5nJfSM8JH7
— US Consumer Product Safety Commission (@USCPSC) March 9, 2023
The company said no negative health impacts were reported due to the products.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, about 1.9 million of the products were sold in the United States, with 40,760 sold in Canada.
“The magnet-lined closures can fail and result in detached magnets, posing a risk of serious injury or death if ingested,” the CPSC said.
The commission said that after a magnet is swallowed, it can be attracted to either metal or another magnet and “become lodged in the digestive system.”
“This can result in perforations, twisting and/or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning and death,” the commission said.
Yeti warned its customers to “immediately stop use of these products.”
The company wanted consumers to fill out a form on its site and said that it would either give customers a replacement product or a Yeti gift card.
Owners of the recalled products will be sent a prepaid shipping label and packaging material to return their coolers or cases.
In September, the commission revised product safety standards concerning magnets in products.
The new rule said that magnets in certain products have to be either too large to swallow or weak enough that there is a low risk of internal injuries if swallowed.
At the time of the new standards, the commission said 26,600 magnet ingestions were reported in hospital emergency rooms from 2010 through 2021. Seven deaths, including five in the U.S., were linked to magnets.
According to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, a 2022 study published in the journal “Pediatrics” found that 56 percent of the 600 cases it studied in which children swallowed magnets required hospitalization.
“The injuries caused by high-powered magnets are common, serious and costly,” said Dr. Leah Middelberg, the author of the study.
“These data suggest that high-powered magnets are among the most dangerous consumer products available today. Because damage caused by magnets can be serious, it’s so important to keep these kinds of magnets out of reach of children, and ideally out of the home.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
