Costco recalls product that causes home fires

Costco decided to withdraw from the market 567 thousand portable battery chargers from stores throughout the United States due to overheating problems that have caused house fires in two serious cases. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported that 120 reports have been received of the device overheating during use.

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The recall affects three models of the 10,000 mAh myCharge Power Hub All-In-One Power Bank. The CPSC has urged users to stop using the devices immediately and announced that customers will receive a free replacement of myCharge.

The chargers, which are priced at approximately $40 ($729 pesos), were sold in Costco stores and online from January 2022 to November 2023. Of the 120 problem reports, five were reported directly to myCharge, including two incidents of residential fires that resulted in approximately 165 thousand in property damage.

Costco received 115 returns of portable chargers that had melted, expanded, smoked, caught fire, burned, exploded or sparked. Neither the commission nor myCharge have published any details of the house fires, according to the Daily Mail.

There have been no reports of injuries requiring medical attention. The CPSC warned that users should not simply dispose of batteries in the trash or battery recycling boxes, as these potentially dangerous batteries must be handled differently.

Lithium-ion batteries in poor condition can cause house fires. Last year, a grandmother, her son, and her grandson died in a house fire in Brooklyn, New York, after a fire caused by the battery of a lithium-ion electric scooter. Albertha West, 81, Michael West, 58, and Jamiyl West, 33, died in the flames that quickly engulfed the Crown Heights brownstone.

In 2023, there were 17 deaths related to lithium-ion batteries and 238 fires caused by them. FDNY Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said the Electric batteries ignite quickly and do not give smoke detectors time to react.

“They explode, and the moment they explode, there can be so much fire at that moment that you can’t get out,” he said.

Costco changes the packaging of rotisserie chicken… and in the US they complain

For a few weeks now, Costco rotisserie chickens, known for their almost unchanged price despite inflation, now come in new packaging that has generated discontent among customers. Costco has begun selling its popular pre-cooked chickens in soft plastic bags instead of traditional hard plastic packaging in its stores in the United States, Mexico and Canada. This packaging change was implemented in March.

Customers, who buy 137 million units a year, have complained about the new design as it tends to leak, causing messes in shopping carts, cars and refrigerators. On Reddit, a user shared his experience

“Chicken juice spilled all over the trunk of our car. These new bags leak!”

Another customer commented that the bags were stained with juice on the display, which left his hands covered in grease. When placing the chicken on the checkout belt, chicken grease was also left on the surface, prompting disgusted comments from the staff.

A deli worker mentioned that the new bags complicate and lengthen the chicken packaging process. Despite these criticisms, the packaging redesign uses 75% less plastic and reduces the use of 17 million pounds of resin per year, according to Costco.

Shoppers have suggested putting chicken in two additional bags in the meat section to prevent leaks, which contravenes the eco-friendly intent of the change. The new packaging is still being introduced and is not available in all US stores.

Curiously, The bags have been used at Costco locations in Canada for about a year without the same leak issues. One Canadian customer commented on Reddit: “I’ve never seen a shelf with stains like this. So the problem can probably be fixed.”

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