Tips to help manage food recalls and prevent foodborne illnesses
About 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 people die each year from preventable foodborne illnesses.
Payton, USA TODAY
Hundreds of complaints and one federal investigation later, Samsung refrigerators remain the appliances consumers most commonly report to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, alleging problems ranging from defective icemakers to inconsistent temperatures.
Most complaints against Samsung refrigerators in the agency’s database so far this year involve consumers who said they got sick because their Samsung refrigerators don’t keep food, medication, breast milk or other perishables cold enough. Many cite faulty temperature sensors and complain that ice builds up inside the back of the refrigerator. Consumers say the buildup blocks air vents and disrupts the cooling process, causing temperatures to rise.
Nearly 700 refrigerator incidents across all brands were reported in 2022, the highest number of annual complaints against any appliance type since the data became available in 2011, according to USA TODAY’s analysis of the data. Of those reports, about 70% involved Samsung products.
Though all refrigerator complaints declined dramatically for 2023 – to fewer than 300 through mid-September – Samsung accounts for the same proportion of the overall refrigerator reports.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has taken no public action on the Samsung refrigerator complaints, which consumer protection experts say points to key shortcomings in the agency’s ability to quickly inform the public about potentially hazardous products. Red tape and regulatory hurdles delay product recalls or warnings even as consumer complaints pile up, leaving unsafe products to remain available for months or even years.
“It’s beyond comprehension that an agency that has the words ‘consumer’ and ‘product safety’ in its name isn’t actually able to do everything that it can to protect consumers from dangerous products,” said Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
A USA TODAY investigation published last November found the number of complaints against Samsung refrigerators rose to record levels starting in 2020. An official warning or recall has not been issued, but the same problems appear in 2023 complaints: temperature fluctuations, food spoilage and subsequent stomach ailments, and extra money spent on repairs or new refrigerators.
“This has been a systemic, ongoing problem that Samsung is well aware of but continues to ignore,” wrote one consumer from Ladera Ranch, California, in August, complaining that their French-door refrigerator displayed temperatures 20 degrees lower than the actual.
“It’s shocking and a disservice to the community that a recall has not been announced.”
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Samsung says its refrigerators don’t have any underlying issues.
“As the number-one selling brand of major appliances in the U.S., we stand behind the quality, reliability, and performance of our refrigerators,” Samsung said in a written statement. “Our award-winning commitment to customer satisfaction has remained consistent, and these trends from recent years do not accurately reflect the true quality and reliability of our home appliance products.”
The written statement noted that the number of refrigerator reports mentioning Samsung “has dropped significantly this year, with a nearly 40% year-over-year decline through September” and said that “we have investigated each of these reports and value every customer’s experience.”
However, the drop in complaints against Samsung refrigerators coincides with a 52% reduction in the number of all refrigerator reports submitted to the safety commission.
Samsung continues to eclipse competing brands in complaints, USA TODAY found. Samsung sold 23% of all refrigerators in the last year, more than any competitor, according to market research firm TraQline, compared to its 70% share of faulty refrigerator complaints.
“How many senior citizens who lose hundreds of dollars’ worth of medication in their refrigerators— How many of those cases are okay?” Murray said. “How many cases of kids ending up in the emergency room with food poisoning are okay?”
A federal class-action lawsuit, filed against Samsung last May in New Jersey, alleges the company knew the refrigerators failed to maintain safe temperatures before they were sold. After surviving Samsung’s motion to dismiss, the legal action continues. Plaintiffs’ attorneys did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Last November, the CPSC confirmed it was investigating Samsung refrigerators when it denied reporters’ request for records and correspondence about these products over the past decade, citing statutory restrictions on what the agency can publicly say about Samsung refrigerators or complaints about other brands.
The law restricts the agency from releasing any information, during an investigation or otherwise, that identifies a manufacturer unless certain conditions are met. The commission continues to cite restrictions on what it can publicly say about Samsung.
“We are aware of the reported issue but, due to statutory restrictions on CPSC’s ability to disclose information about specific manufacturers or products, we have no further comment at this time,” Patty Davis, the commission’s press secretary, said this week.
Why do product recalls take so long?
Notwithstanding the volume of reported issues, a section in the Consumer Product Safety Act restricts the CPSC from swiftly warning the public about an unsafe product even when the agency knows there’s a problem and is looking into it.
The agency can issue a product warning in as few as 20 days. But the law gives companies the right to challenge the agency’s decision in court, so it’s common for a recall or warning to be held up in months of negotiations aimed at avoiding litigation. Meanwhile, potentially unsafe products remain on the shelves, and unaware consumers continue to use them in their homes.
No other federal health or safety agency is bound by such a restriction. Understaffed and underfunded, the CPSC oversees more than 15,000 types of consumer products and does not have enough resources to speed up investigations and negotiations, consumer protection experts say. When a 20-day window turns into a 20-month delay, the law intended to protect companies against defamation winds up impeding the timely release of safety information.
“Every single syllable of a recall notice is negotiated,” Murray said. “So, the CPSC will not come out and say this, that and the other thing without making sure that it doesn’t hurt the feelings of the company that’s involved. There’s a line between disparaging a company irresponsibly and alerting the public.”
When manufacturers won’t agree to a recall, the CPSC can sue them, which may bring them to the negotiating table, said Pamela Gilbert, who served as the agency’s executive director from 1995 to 2001. While the law allows the commission to issue its own warning about a dangerous product before a recall, in practice, it’s rare for the agency to call out a company or product by name unless there’s an imminent hazard or urgent public safety threat.
“Issuing information that doesn’t specifically name manufacturers is almost meaningless,” said Gilbert, who now practices consumer protection law. “Like, ‘There are toasters out there that can set your house on fire.’ Well, what toaster, right? It’s just not helpful unless you can specify what product, who manufactured the product, what it’s called.”
The agency issues about 300 recalls a year, but even when a product is recalled, consumers don’t always find out about it. While the big, name-brand cases are more likely to get media attention, hundreds of others escape notice. Signs may or may not be posted in retail stores, and if the product was purchased online, the company might not always inform consumers.
“What we are advocating for is for the manufacturers to take more responsibility,” said Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. “The bottom line is these companies, whoever they are, whether they’re selling clothes or makeup or food or the latest gadget, they spend bazillions of dollars to market this stuff to us. Then when there’s a problem with the product, it’s crickets.”
How long should refrigerators last?
While a defective $20 toaster is more likely to get tossed, many consumers persevere in fixing or getting to the bottom of their refrigerators’ issues. Products that people tend to keep in their homes for many years, also tend to rise higher on the CPSC’s priority list, Murray said.
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“A refrigerator, you know, depending on the model, can cost hundreds or thousands,” Murray said. “People aren’t just going to be like, “Okay, well, I can’t get this problem resolved in one day. I’m going to throw it away. I’ll put it on the curb and call the city to come and get it and be done with it.’”
Refrigerators last an average of 12 years, according to an Energy Saver report from the U.S. Department of Energy. About half of the Samsung refrigerator complaints submitted from 2020 onward involved models that should still have plenty of lifespan, those manufactured between 2014 and 2018, according to USA TODAY’s analysis of the data.
After calls to customer service go nowhere or visits from technicians don’t rectify the problem, consumers often take to social media to seek advice or voice frustration. That’s what more than 100,000 users did when they joined a Facebook group called “Samsung Refrigerator Recall U.S.A NOW,” which was taken down by the social media site last year for sharing the contact information of a big-box retailer’s CEO.
The forum’s removal was a loss to consumers attempting to troubleshoot their refrigerators’ issues and find out if they’re alone, said Tom O’Shea, one of the Facebook group’s administrators.
“The problem with this is everybody thinks it’s just theirs,” O’Shea said. “And once they realize it’s not just theirs, that’s when it explodes. Then it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, mine does that. Oh, my God, my mother’s does that, and my brother’s does that.’”
Several new Facebook groups dedicated to faulty Samsung refrigerators and appliances have since popped up, including one called “UNnamed Broken Appliance Group.” The group was renamed to stay off Facebook’s radar, said O’Shea, who continues to help manage the forum.
“The bigger message for the group is it’s not just this,” O’Shea said, referring to Samsung refrigerators. “You can use these tools for any company you deal with. It’s the process. Use the Better Business Bureau. Use your consumer protection laws.”
There is also a lesson to be learned for companies whose reputations among consumers are at stake, said Pamela Gilbert, a former executive director of the commission.
“For consumer-facing companies, I always think that at the end of the day, they lose when they fight so hard against, you know, what really looks clearly a problem,” Gilbert said. “The companies that win out, I think, are the ones that embrace it and say, ‘Oops, we didn’t mean to do that. We made a mistake.’ Reputation for consumer product manufacturers is the No. 1 thing for them.”
Jessica Roberts is a seasoned business writer who deciphers the intricacies of the corporate world. With a focus on finance and entrepreneurship, she provides readers with valuable insights into market trends, startup innovations, and economic developments.
