Tips for navigating food recalls and preventing foodborne illnesses
Approximately 128,000 are hospitalized each year and 3,000 people die each year from preventable foodborne illnesses.
Payton, USA TODAY
Hundreds of complaints and a federal investigation later, Samsung refrigerators remain the appliances most commonly reported by consumers to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. It claims problems ranging from broken ice makers to inconsistent temperatures.
The majority of complaints against Samsung refrigerators in the agency’s database so far this year have involved consumers who said they got sick because their Samsung refrigerators didn’t keep food, medicine, breast milk or other perishable goods cold enough. Many point to faulty temperature sensors and complain about ice forming on the back of the refrigerator. Consumers say that the deposits clog the vents and disrupt the cooling process, causing the temperature to rise.
According to USA TODAY’s analysis of data, 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. Of those reports, about 70% involved Samsung products.
Although all refrigerator complaints fell dramatically in 2023 – to fewer than 300 by mid-September – Samsung accounts for the same share of total refrigerator reports.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has taken no public action on the Samsung refrigerator complaints, which consumer protection experts say indicate significant deficiencies in the agency’s ability to quickly inform the public about potentially dangerous products. Red tape and regulatory hurdles delay product recalls or warnings even as consumer complaints pile up, meaning unsafe products remain available for months or even years.
“It is incomprehensible that an agency that has the words ‘consumer’ and ‘product safety’ in its name cannot actually do everything it can to protect consumers from dangerous products,” said Teresa Murray, consumer protection officer for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group .
A USA TODAY investigation published last November found that the number of complaints against Samsung refrigerators rose to record levels starting in 2020. No official warning or recall has been issued, but complaints in 2023 present the same problems: temperature fluctuations, food spoilage and resulting stomach illnesses, and additional expenses for repairs or new refrigerators.
“This is a systemic, ongoing problem that Samsung is aware of but continues to ignore,” a consumer from Ladera Ranch, California, wrote in August, complaining that his French-door refrigerator was displaying temperatures 20 degrees below normal actual values were.
“It is shocking and a disservice to the community that a recall has not been announced.”
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Samsung says its refrigerators have no underlying problems.
“As the best-selling major appliance brand 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 unchanged, and these trends in recent years do not accurately reflect the true quality and reliability of our home appliance products.”
The written statement said that the number of refrigerator reports mentioning Samsung “has declined significantly this year, with a year-over-year decline of nearly 40% through September” and that “we have investigated each of these reports and value each customer’s experience.” ”
However, the decline in complaints against Samsung refrigerators coincides with a 52% decline in the number of total refrigerator reports filed with the Safety Commission.
USA TODAY found that Samsung continues to outshine competing brands in complaints. Samsung sold 23% of all refrigerators last year, more than any competitor, compared with a 70% share of complaints about faulty refrigerators, according to market research firm TraQline.
“How many seniors who lose hundreds of dollars’ worth of medication in their refrigerators – how many of these cases are OK?” Murray said. “How many cases of kids ending up in the emergency room with food poisoning are OK?”
A federal class action lawsuit filed against Samsung in New Jersey last May alleges the company knew before the sale that the refrigerators did not maintain safe temperatures. After Samsung’s motion to dismiss is accepted, the trial will continue. Attorneys for the plaintiffs did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Last November, the CPSC confirmed it was investigating Samsung refrigerators when it declined reporters’ requests for records and correspondence about those products from the past decade, citing legal limits on what the agency can say publicly about Samsung refrigerators , or to complaints about other brands.
The law prohibits the agency from disclosing information that identifies a manufacturer during an investigation or otherwise unless certain conditions are met. The Commission continues to cite restrictions on what it can say publicly about Samsung.
“We are aware of the reported issue, but due to legal 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?
Regardless of the volume of problems reported, a section of the Consumer Product Safety Act prevents the CPSC from quickly warning the public about an unsafe product, even if the agency knows there is a problem and is investigating it.
The authority can issue a product warning within 20 days. However, the law gives companies the right to challenge the authority’s decision in court. Therefore, it often happens that a recall or warning is postponed after months of negotiations to avoid litigation. Meanwhile, potentially unsafe products remain on shelves and unsuspecting consumers continue to use them at home.
No other federal health or safety agency is bound by such a restriction. The CPSC is understaffed and underfunded, oversees more than 15,000 types of consumer products and does not have enough resources to expedite investigations and negotiations, consumer protection experts say. When a 20-day window becomes a 20-month delay, the law designed to protect companies from defamation hinders the timely release of safety information.
“Every single syllable of a recall notice is negotiated,” Murray said. “So the CPSC is not going to say this or that without making sure it doesn’t hurt the feelings of the company involved. There is a line between irresponsibly denigrating a company and alarming the public.”
If manufacturers don’t agree to a recall, the CPSC can sue them, potentially bringing them to the bargaining table, said Pamela Gilbert, who served as the agency’s executive director from 1995 to 2001. Although the law allows the Commission to issue recalls if you issue your own warning about a dangerous product before a recall, in practice it is rare for the authority to name a company or product unless there is an immediate need Danger or an urgent threat to public safety.
“Issuing information that does not specifically name the manufacturers is almost meaningless,” said Gilbert, who now practices consumer protection law. “For example, ‘There are toasters out there that can set your house on fire.’ Well, which toaster, right? It’s just not helpful unless you can specify what product, who made the product and what it’s called.”
The agency issues about 300 recalls per year, but even when a product is recalled, consumers don’t always find out about it. While the big brand cases tend to attract media attention, hundreds of others escape attention. Signs may or may not be posted in retail stores, and if the product was purchased online, the company may not always inform consumers.
“We’re advocating for manufacturers to take more responsibility,” said Teresa Murray, consumer advocate at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. “The bottom line is that these companies, whoever they are, whether they sell clothing, makeup, food or the latest gadget, spend tons of dollars marketing this stuff to us. Then if there’s a problem with the product, it’s crickets.”
How long should refrigerators last?
While a broken $20 toaster is more likely to be thrown away, many consumers are persistent in fixing or getting to the bottom of their refrigerator’s problems. Products that people keep in their homes for many years also tend to be high on the CPSC’s priority list, according to Murray.
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“A refrigerator can, you know, cost hundreds or thousands depending on the model,” Murray said. “People aren’t just going to say, ‘Okay, well, I can’t solve this problem in a day.’ I’m going to throw it away. I’ll put it on the side of the road and call the city to come pick it up and then it’ll be done.’”
According to an Energy Saver report from the U.S. Department of Energy, refrigerators last an average of 12 years. About half of Samsung refrigerator complaints filed starting in 2020 involved models that were expected to have a long lifespan, those manufactured between 2014 and 2018, according to USA TODAY data analysis.
When calls to customer service are unsuccessful or visits from technicians fail to resolve the issue, consumers often turn to social media to seek advice or express their frustration. That’s what more than 100,000 users did when they joined a Facebook group called “Samsung Refrigerator Recall USA NOW,” which the social media site shut down last year for sharing the contact information of the CEO of a major retailer.
The forum’s removal is a loss for consumers trying to troubleshoot the problems with their refrigerators and find out if they are alone, said Tom O’Shea, one of the Facebook group’s administrators.
“The problem is that everyone thinks it’s just theirs,” O’Shea said. “And as soon as they realize it’s not just theirs, it explodes. Then it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, mine does that.’ Oh my God, my mom does that and my brother does that.'”
Since then, several new Facebook groups dedicated to broken Samsung refrigerators and appliances have emerged, including one called the “UNnamed Broken Appliance Group.” The group was renamed to stay off Facebook’s radar, said O’Shea, who continues to help run the forum.
“The bigger message for the group is that it’s not just about that,” O’Shea said, referring to Samsung refrigerators. “You can use these tools for any business 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 with consumers are at stake, said Pamela Gilbert, a former executive director of the commission.
“For consumer-facing companies, I always think that they lose at the end of the day when they fight this so hard, you know, which really clearly seems to be a problem,” Gilbert said. “I think the companies that prevail are the ones that embrace it and say, ‘Oops, we didn’t mean to do that.’ We made a mistake.’ The reputation of consumer goods manufacturers is the most important thing for them.”