Federal Agency Announces Recall of 2 Million Air Fryers Over Fire Hazard

Some of the recalled Cosori air fryers. (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)

About 2 million Cosori air fryers have been recalled this week because they pose a potential fire risk, warned a federal agency.

The US. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said in a Feb. 23 bulletin that consumers “should immediately stop” using the recalled air fryers and contact the firm for a replacement. In the meantime, the company established a special website to trade in their air fryers for free.

“The firm has received 205 reports of the air fryers catching fire, burning, melting, overheating and smoking. These include 10 reports of minor, superficial burn injuries and 23 reports of minor property damage,” according to the CPSC.

The devices, which are similar to a convection oven and combine a heating device and a fan to circulate hot air, were sold at Best Buy, Target, the Home Depot stores around the United States and online at Amazon.com, Adorama.com, Bedbathandbeyond.com, Cosori.com, eBay.com, Homegoods.com, Kohls.com, Lowes.com, Macys.com, QVC.com, Staples.com, Vesync.com, Walmart.com, Wayfair.com, Wellbots.com, and Woot.com from June 2018 until December 2022 for between $70 and $130, according to the agency.

In a statement, Cosori said that after a “thorough investigation,” the company “determined that in extremely rare circumstances, the closed-end crimp connectors within the recalled air fryers, which are responsible for establishing electrical connections between certain wires, can overheat, posing fire and burn hazards.”

“Cosori is committed to the safety of those who use and love our products, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience,” the statement continued.

The CPSC notes that the Cosori air fryers were manufactured in China. Recalled model numbers, located under the device, are CP158-AF, CP158-AF-R19, CP158-AF-RXW, CP158-AF-RXR, CAF-P581-BUSR, CAF-P581-AUSR, CAF-P581-RUSR, CP137-AF, CP137-AF-RXB, CP137-AF-RXR, CP137-AF-RXW, CS158-AF, CS158-AF-RXB, CS158-AF-R19, CAF-P581S-BUSR, CAF-P581S-RUSR, CAF-P581S-AUSR, CO137-AF, CO158-AF, CO158-AF-RXB, CP258-AF, the agency said.

Other Incidents

Thousands of other air fryers were recalled in 2022 after reports they were fire hazards. In October, about 12,000 Magic Chef Air Fryers were recalled because of potential overheating, while months before that, Best Buy recalled about 700,000 of its Insignia air fryers and air fryer ovens after reports of the products catching on fire, melting, and causing injuries.

Some recent local reports have indicated that kitchens have caught on fire after similar devices were left plugged in and unattended.

A woman posted an image allegedly showing her burnt kitchen on Facebook, warning that her air fryer caused it.

“What caused this was our air fryer. We left it plugged in and when the electric [sic] came back on it surged through it,” the woman wrote. “We even had it plugged into a special outlet for protection- it failed anyway what i [sic] wanted to tell you was the fire inspector said this was the 6th air fryer fires [sic] he’s had to do, they (firefighters) are trying to get air fryer companies looked into because of all the fires. So please unplug your air fryers when not in use.”

How It Works

A Dutch inventor developed the first air fryer that hit the market in 2010. Articles about the devices say that they are designed primarily to cook breaded food including egg rolls, breaded chicken, corn dogs, taquitos, and similar items.

They’re also marketed as devices that can cook food with a small amount or no oil, bake cakes, and roast chicken, according to industry website NPD Group. About 25 million of the devices were sold from January 2020 to December 2021, it found.

“Air fryers were selling before the pandemic, and sales accelerated during it,” Joe Derochowski, with NPD, said in a news release issued last January. “The popularity of air fryers offers opportunities for manufacturers, like upgrading existing owners with an innovative feature or function, enticing new buyers, or developing a multi-function appliance used for a variety of occasions.”