Why Walmart just pulled 850,000 water bottles off the shelves

Walmart is recalling hundreds of thousands of reusable water bottles after multiple customers reported injuries, some of them going blind.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced the recall of Ozark Trail 64 oz Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottles last week, alerting consumers of the potential hazard and telling them to stop using the products immediately.

“The lid can forcefully eject, posing serious impact and laceration hazards, when a consumer attempts to open the capped bottles after food, carbonated beverages or perishable beverages, such as juice or milk, are stored inside over time,” the recall notice explained.

The notice also stated that some of the injuries related to the product have been serious. “Walmart has received three reports of consumers who were injured when struck in the face by a lid forcefully ejected from these bottles upon opening. Two consumers suffered permanent vision loss after being struck in the eye.”

The now-recalled product is not new to Walmart shelves. It’s been on the market since 2017. However, it seems injuries have only just been recently reported. The product itself does not contain the model number, however, the number, 83-662, can be found on the packaging. The bottles measure 4.41 by 4.41 by 11.5 inches, the agency noted.

In a statement to the Associated Press, Walmart said, “The health and safety of our customers is always a top priority” and said the brand has “fully cooperated” with CPSC to take the product off of shelves and alert customers to the danger. The company is offering full refunds for the water bottles and directed customers to return the water bottles to Walmart stores.

CPSC directed customers to call Walmart directly at 800-925-6278 or visit www.walmart.com/help or https://corporate.walmart.com/recalls for additional information.

Water bottles have become somewhat of a fashion statement, surging in popularity in recent years. But along with the rise in popularity has also come an uptick in safety concerns. Last year, Stanley made headlines after TikTokkers began testing the water bottles for lead, and in some cases, finding it.

The company initially said there is no lead in the products, then later clarified the statement to explain that lead is used in the manufacturing process, but that cups would have to be damaged for the lead to be exposed. A law firm sued the maker of Stanley cups over the concern, and other lawsuits followed.