Federal safety officials are warning owners of a popular electric pressure cooker to stop using it, because the lid can open while the pot is still under pressure.
Story Highlights
- The CPSC says to stop using Tristar’s 6-quart Power Quick Pot pressure cooker, model Y6D-36, and throw it away.
- About 393,000 were sold from about July 2018 to November 2023 on Walmart.com, Amazon.com, eBay.com and at other stores.
- The agency has 24 reports of the cookers throwing out hot contents and causing serious burns.
- Tristar has refused to recall the cookers or offer owners a remedy, the agency says.
Agency Issues Direct Stop-Use Warning
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency that polices dangerous household goods, issued the warning on Thursday, October 15, and told owners to stop using the cookers immediately. The reason is a burn hazard: the agency says the lid can open while the cooker is still pressurized, so scalding food and liquid can shoot out without warning. It has 24 reports of the cookers throwing out hot contents, and those incidents led to serious burn injuries.
You can spot the cooker by its stainless-steel body, black pressure lid, button controls and digital display, with “Power Quick Pot” printed on the front. The model number, Y6D-36, is on a label on the back of the unit. The cookers sold for between $44 and $160.
Why There Is No Recall
A recall is a deal in which a company agrees to fix, replace or refund a product. Most safety notices come with one. This one does not. The agency says Tristar Products, Inc., of Altamonte Springs, Florida, which imported the cookers, “has refused to recall these products or offer a remedy to consumers.”
When a company will not agree to a recall, the agency can still warn the public on its own, and that is what it did here. It means owners who paid for one of these cookers are not being offered a refund. The cookers were made in China and sold nationwide.
How The Hazard Works
An electric pressure cooker traps steam inside a sealed pot to cook food fast. The lid is supposed to stay locked until the pressure drops. If it opens too soon, the trapped steam can push hot food and liquid out at whoever is standing nearby. The agency has not said why the lid on this model can open while the pot is pressurized.
What Owners Should Do
Check the label on the back of your pressure cooker. If it reads Y6D-36, stop using it and dispose of it. The agency says not to sell it or give it away, so the danger does not pass to someone else’s kitchen. Anyone who has been burned should see a doctor, since a serious burn needs a professional’s care.
You can report a problem with one of these cookers at SaferProducts.gov, the agency’s public reporting site, or call the CPSC hotline at 800-638-2772. A pressure cooker is supposed to save time in the kitchen, and this warning gives families the one number they need to check their own counters.