Shattered glass: More than 140 new incidents reported
Sep 6, 2011
In the past several months, Consumer Reports has obtained 145 new reports of
glass bakeware unexpectedly shattering, bringing to more than 300 the number of
incidents we’ve reviewed. Among all of those cases, we found 60 reports of
injuries, including cuts and burns. The new reports came mostly from readers
sending in e-mails about incidents, following our article on glass bakeware in
the January 2011 issue of Consumer Reports magazine. We also found an
additional 24 reports from the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s new
website, www.SaferProducts.gov.
The new cases we analyzed show that consumers continue to face instances of
unexpected shattering with glass baking dishes, most occurring while being
heated in the oven. The latest reports also include incidents involving eight
glass bowls and seven measuring cups.
While hundreds of millions of dishes are used safely each year, we believe the
situation deserves further investigation. We have asked the CPSC to conduct a
thorough study of the on the market, with particular attention
to the differences between bakeware made of soda lime and of borosilicate.
Most of the products, the consumers reported were made by World Kitchen, the
Illinois-based maker of Pyrex in the U.S., and its competitor Anchor
Hocking. Together they have more than 75 percent of the glass bakeware market.
Decades ago, Pyrex and Anchor Hocking made products out of a heat-resistant
glass called borosilicate. Although it’s not clear when the switch occurred,
their bakeware is now made of soda lime glass, which is less expensive to
produce.
Borosilicate is still used to make glass bakeware in Europe,
and for our January report, we put both types through extreme heat tests to
examine the differences. You can see how we tested in the video below.
The test was contrary to the instructions on the back of the label. Our tests
often go above and beyond manufacturer instructions. World Kitchen and Anchor
Hocking state that the soda lime glass they use in bakeware is strengthened
with a thermal tempering process. They say it is no more likely than
borosilicate to shatter under sudden temperature changes but has greater
resistance to breakage from impact, which they suggest is the more common cause
of injury.