Photo credit: webphotographeer From Prevention Eight people claim they were injured from exploding cans of cooking spray. In six separate lawsuits, the victims say the cans are faulty. Conagra, the makers of PAM, say their product is safe and effective. 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." Story continues 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. Stay updated on the latest science-backed health, fitness, and nutrition news by signing up for the Prevention.com newsletter here. For added fun, follow us on Instagram. ('You Might Also Like',)<doc-sep>Full Statement from Conagra: Six separate lawsuits filed Tuesday allege consumers were severely burned and injured due to explosive cans of cooking spray. The law firm that filed these cases is calling for a nationwide recall, but Conagra, the company that makes PAM, is standing by its products.A 911 recording captured the moments after lawyers for Y'Tesia Taylor said a can of PAM cooking spray exploded.The lawsuit said the college student was cooking at home when she set the can on a cart separate from the stove, heard a sudden pop, and was immediately engulfed in a fireball. Taylor suffered serious burns and was placed in a medically induced coma for two weeks. "In 2011, Conagra changed their cooking spray cans to incorporate vents on the bottom of the cans," said Craig Smith, Taylor's attorney.Smith said the cans involved in the lawsuits are mostly 10-ounce cans or bigger. "The vents are designed to open when the cans are heated," he said.Smith alleges the cans are faulty, dangerous, and prone to explosion since the vents allow extremely flammable gases to escape. "I'm trying to protect other folks as well to keep them from being burned," he said.Tuesday morning, Smith filed six separate lawsuits on behalf of victims he said have already been severely burned. They include Maria Mariani, Raveen Sugantheraj and Paytene Pivonkia and Jacob Dalton who were all burned in home kitchens. Reveriano Duran is a cook who was injured in a commercial kitchen. "Fellow was just doing his job at a restaurant. It's security camera video," Smith said.Conagra Brands Inc. manufactures PAM and other similar cooking spray brands. It said the vast majority of the PAM cooking sprays used in people's homes are the smaller, 6-ounce size.It also said, "We fully stand by this product....and when PAM is used correctly and properly as demonstrated by millions of Americans each and every day, it is a 100% safe and effective product. "The 10-ounce vented cans have been out of production since 2014 and all vented products have been out of production since earlier this year, but Smith said Conagra should still issue a recall. "It would be great if Conagra would step up to the plate and take these cans off the shelves," he said.He also said to check the bottom of the can, the ones in the lawsuits have four U-shaped tabs that are visible.Conagra also reminds consumers that its packaging alerts consumers the sprays "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 over 120-degrees farenheit. "The CPSC tells Action News they are looking into the matter.<doc-sep>Photo : Getty Images Over half a dozen people are suing Conagra after sustaining injuries allegedly resulting from exploding cans of cooking spray. According to USA Today, the injuries are pretty serious—in addition to burns, one person was blinded in one eye. According to the Chicago Tribune, Conagra removed the can from “active production earlier this year, three years after introducing it.” Conagra has not issued a recall on the old design, and maintains that “when Pam is used correctly, as instructed, it is a 100% safe and effective product.” Advertisement According to USA Today, the lawsuit claims that the allegedly faulty cans were “were designed and manufactured so that when the can buckled and the u-shaped vents on the bottom of the canister opened, the internal contents of the canister would escape through the vents and the pressure inside the can would be reduced,” and that these cans were “10 ounces or larger, primarily sold at wholesale retail chains.” In each incident, the can had been placed on a shelf, counter, or cart near an oven or stove. It is, of course, a good idea to keep aerosol containers away from open flames, and stored below temperatures of 120 ℉ (this is clearly stated on all cans of cooking spray), but it’s worth noting that the instructions on such cans are kind of vague. Though consumers are instructed not to keep aerosols “near” heat sources, that’s a pretty vague term. The can in question may no longer be in production, but you should go ahead an throw out any old cans of Conagra cooking spray you have in your kitchen, particularly if they are 10 ounces or larger, or you can’t remember when you bought them, or bought them within the last three years. This is also a good time to make sure all your aerosols—PAM or not—are stored a decent distance away from heat sources, in shelves or cabinets that are not adjacent to or above your stove and oven. And, while we’re on the subject: keep your untempered glass away from the stove as well; I once had a glass pepper grinder crack in my damn hand, resulting in some minor cuts, but it could have been worse. Cooking can be dangerous, friends, but storing things properly can make it less so. 8 people allegedly disfigured by exploding cans of cooking spray like Pam sue Conagra | USA Today<doc-sep>
Eight people are suing Conagra, the maker of Pam and other cooking sprays, because they say the cans exploded and severely burned and disfigured them. The half a dozen lawsuits, filed in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago on Tuesday morning, allege that Conagra designed and produced cooking-spray cans that were defective, especially when close to kitchen heat sources such as stoves and grills where this food product tends to be used. Conagra failed to warn consumers of the danger, the court filings charge. "When Pam is used correctly, as instructed, it is a 100% safe and effective product," the Chicago-based company said in a statement. "Pam Cooking Spray is used safely and properly by millions of people every day and several times a day." Ka-ching:Amazon says small business owners earn $90,000 a year from selling in its stores Zzzzzzzzzzzz:Tempur-Pedic introduces bed-in-a-box mattress: Tempur-Cloud debuts Conagra added that the can design in question is no longer in production. The plaintiffs are: Maria Mariano, whose canister of Wellsley Farms Cooking Spray on a counter near the stove in her Staten Island, New York, home, exploded as she was boiling water on April 5. Raveen Sugantharaj, who was burned by an exploding can of Pam Cooking Spray in his Indianapolis home on March 6. Paytene Pivonka and Jacob Dalton, whose Pam Cooking Spray on a wall shelf above the stove where they were cooking in their Provo, Utah, home exploded and burned them on Nov. 6. Andrea Bearden and Brandon Banks, who were burned in their Mount Carmel, Illinois, home, on May 19 when the can of Pam Cooking Spray on a counter beside their stove exploded. Reveriano Duran, a cook at of the Berryhill Baja Grill in Houston, who on July 16, 2017, moved a canister of Sysco Cooking Spray from the left side of a shelf near the grill top to the right side and then was burned when it exploded. Y’Tesia Taylor, who was burned and blinded in one eye on July 15, 2017, when a canister of Pam Cooking Spray, which she'd just used to spray a baking dish with and then placed on a rolling wooden utility cart next to the stove where she was cooking, exploded as she finished putting the dish in the oven in her Greenville, Texas, home. Conagra said that all Pam Cooking Sprays include clear instructions on both the front and back of the packaging that it should be used responsibly due to its flammability and that it shouldn't be left on a stove or near a heat source, sprayed near an open flame or stored above 120°F." The new cans "were designed and manufactured so that when the can buckled and the u-shaped vents on the bottom of the canister opened, the internal contents of the canister would escape through the vents and the pressure inside the can would be reduced," the lawsuits allege. J. Craig Smith of Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder, which represents the victims in these cases, explained that in 2011, after decades, Conagra switched to a new kind of aerosol can – primarily for cans 10 ounces or larger, primarily sold at wholesale retail chains – as a cost-saving measure. The design makes the can more likely to explode at lower temperatures than intended. “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," he said in a statement. "Each day that these cans remain on store shelves, Conagra’s negligence puts consumers in danger.” Conagra's other brands include Healthy Choice, Vlasic, Birds Eye, Marie Callender's, Reddi-wip and Slim Jim. Follow USA TODAY reporter Zlati Meyer on Twitter: @ZlatiMeyer