PAM Cooking Spray Can Explode and Cause Burns, Lawsuit Says

You probably think knives are the only dangerous weapon in your kitchen, but a new lawsuit says you should be cautious around cooking spray.

Faulty cooking spray canisters are blamed for causing eight burn injuries, according to a press release issued by Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder, a Connecticut firm. The lawsuits claim that Conagra changed the aerosol can design in order to save money. The cans in question are sold under the PAM label, or generic store brands manufactured by Conagra. The plaintiffs claim the cans are faulty, dangerous, and prone to explosion.

In one incident, a Maria Mariani from New York suffered burns on nearly 30 percent of her skin, according to the release. She was boiling water when a cooking spray can exploded and set fire to her hair and body.

“It was the scariest thing ever. I was confused, scared, I didn’t know what to do,” Mariani told CBS New York.”All I do is cry and wonder ‘Why me?'”

In Greenville, Texas, Y’Tesia Taylor was cooking when a can of PAM erupted. She sustained burns to her face, neck, chest, stomach and arms. Taylor is currently blind because a contact lens was burned into her eye.

“It is beyond irresponsible that, to increase profits, Conagra Brands made and sold cans of household cooking spray that are susceptible to explosion, choosing not to use the safer designs as it had for the last sixty years, and failed to warn consumers about the very serious risks,” J. Craig Smith of Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder said in the statement. “Perhaps more alarming is the fact that, to this day, Conagra apparently refuses to institute a nationwide recall to ensure that the defective cans sitting on store shelves right now are removed before someone else suffers permanent injury from an explosion. Each day that these cans remain on store shelves, Conagra’s negligence puts consumers in danger.”

However, in a statement to CBS New York, Conagra said their products are safe, effective, and come with a warning: “Can may burst if left on stove or near heat source.”

“Please know the safety of our products and our consumers is always our top priority.

When PAM is used correctly, as instructed, it is a 100-percent safe and effective product. PAM Cooking Sprays is used safely and properly by millions of people several times a day, every single day. The product has been used for more than 50 years for the baking, grilling and cooking needs of consumers everywhere.

All PAM Cooking Sprays include large, clear instructions, warnings and cautions on both the front and back of the packaging alerting consumers that the product should be used responsibly as it is flammable, and that it should not be left on a stove or near a heat source, should not be sprayed near an open flame, and should not be stored above 120°F.

The vented can design in question, was used in market on a limited number of cans over the last several years. We redesign packaging in the ordinary course of business, and just as we introduced the vented can years ago, we removed it from production, earlier this year, as we sought to standardize our cans across the entire aerosol cooking spray product line. So, that design is no longer in production.

We fully stand by this product. To reiterate, when PAM is used correctly, as instructed, it is a 100-percent safe and effective product.”

According to Cooking Light, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is currently investigating the claims. However, until this matter is settled it may be worth checking to see if you have one of the vented-bottom canisters.

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