Feb 27, 2008 11:04 pm US/Central
I-TEAM: Is There A Problem With Pyrex?
(WCCO)
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World Kitchen makes Pyrex, and said most incidents of breaks happen when people don't follow the pan's instructions or the warnings embossed on the pan.
CBS
In the land of 10,000 hotdishes Pyrex is a staple. Like many people, you probably tossed out the instructions for your Pyrex pan long ago. However, some cooks say they have lost trust in the brand after their bakeware shattered or exploded inside or outside their ovens.
"There were big pieces, small pieces. Some that were just like big shards that man, if one of those had hit you could have really done some serious damage," said Rosemary Harris, of Rosemount, Minn.
Harris said her pan exploded inside her oven while she cooked Turkey Tetrazzini.
Terry Rhoads melted butter in his pan in the oven. He said after he removed the pan from the preheated oven with the melted butter inside, he put it on a countertop, where it exploded.
"It sounded like a shotgun went off -- a loud explosion and glass was flying everywhere," Rhoads said. "I looked down and that's when I saw about an inch and half long piece of glass projecting out of the top of my foot."
Rhoads needed surgery for a ruptured tendon in his foot.
World Kitchen makes Pyrex, and said most incidents of breaks happen when people don't follow the pan's instructions or the warnings embossed on the pan.
The I-TEAM found consumers sometimes did fail to follow instructions. However, some people said they didn't find out they were doing anything wrong until they called World Kitchen to complain.
Cathy Carter thought since she was supposed to avoid putting a hot Pyrex pan on a cold surface, she'd set her pan on a warm stovetop.
"I left it for five minutes and it just exploded," Carter said.
World Kitchen told her that taking a pan from a 400-degree oven and putting it on a warm stovetop could shock the pan too, leading to the possibility it could break.
"They need to explain it," she said.
Rhoads had instruction issues too. World Kitchen told him he shouldn't have used his Pyrex pan to melt butter in the oven, saying that can cause hotspots that could make their pans break. The instructions say nothing about that -- they simply warn to "not overheat oil or butter in the microwave."
The company also said it was a mistake for Rhoads to put the hotdish on a cold surface, but the instructions don't say a countertop qualifies as "cold".
Doug Constance said he also had a pan that exploded while he was making fish. When he contacted World Kitchen, he said the company told him his 450-degree oven should have only been set to 425-degrees.
"If that 425-degree limit is in fact the highest temperature I can use the dish at, Pyrex should be advertising that," said Constance. "She also told me that I should have put water in the dish sufficient to cover the bottom of it and up a little bit on the sides."
New instructions now say "Add a small amount of liquid to the dish prior to baking foods that release liquids." Constance and his wife, Donna, wonder if that means a tablespoon or a cup? Again the label does not say.
"I've cooked for many years and I have no idea what that means," Donna Constance said.
World Kitchen said Pyrex "bakeware comes with robust and specific warnings against misuse that could cause breakage." However, the company would not comment on the experiences of Harris or Doug Constance, because they hadn't sent in their pans for examination. The company said there is no way of knowing if their claims are substantiated.
When it does get broken pans back from customers, World Kitchens said they're tested. The company said the overwhelming majority were misused, or weren't actually Pyrex.
Doug Constance had the label for his dish. Rosemary Harris had an identical pan clearly marked Pyrex in her cupboard. Terry Rhoads insists his was Pyrex too.
"Our confidence is gone," said Julia Rhoads, Terry Rhoads' wife.
In the last five years, the I-TEAM found 300 consumers posted complaints about Pyrex online. The Consumer Product Safety Commission forwarded to the I-TEAM 66 complaints about Pyrex it has received in the last 10 years.
World Kitchen believes that number is very low, considering it's sold 369 million pieces of Pyrex since it bought the brand from Corning in 1998. The company said government data show no one was treated in an emergency room from shattering Pyrex in 2005 or 2006 and points out the CPSC has never recalled the product.
Given all that, World Kitchen said, "There is no reasonable or valid basis upon which to conclude that Pyrex glassware poses a safety issue."
The CPSC told the I-TEAM it doesn't consider Pyrex a safety hazard. Still, based on what happened to her, Rosemary Harris wonders, "Is there a problem with Pyrex?"
World Kitchen said no. It also commissioned a test to help prove that its product is safe. To see that part of the story watch Thursday on WCCO 4 News at 10.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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