Glass Bakeware Poses Shatter Risk

[bogeygal]

Glass Bakeware Poses Shatter Risk

In case anyone missed this in the news. I use pyrex and other glass dishes for everyday cooking and for the holidays. Now I'm a bit worried.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/07/earlyshow/contributors/susankoeppen/main7125574.shtml

 

[impatientredhead]

Glass Bakeware Poses Shatter Risk

In case anyone missed this in the news. I use pyrex and other glass dishes for everyday cooking and for the holidays. Now I'm a bit worried.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/07/earlyshow/contributors/susankoeppen/main7125574.shtml

I have had this happen once, I still use them but am more careful. I was a teenage bride and put a pyrex pan right out of the oven into the wet sink and it scared me to death.

Mom apparently failed to mention that kitchen lesson along the way. Never did it again.

 

[bogeygal]

I have had this happen once, I still use them but am more careful. I was a teenage bride and put a pyrex pan right out of the oven into the wet sink and it scared me to death.

Mom apparently failed to mention that kitchen lesson along the way. Never did it again.

Thanks, I won't be putting them in the sink either. There was a report on my local news, and they did mention not to put on a wet counter after taking out of the oven too.

I really like to use the glass casserole dishes for baking. The glass was so much easier to clean then using a metal pan, especially when making ziti or lasagna or anything that is a tough clean-up job. :waitasec:

 

[impatientredhead]

Thanks, I won't be putting them in the sink either. There was a report on my local news, and they did mention not to put on a wet counter after taking out of the oven too.

I really like to use the glass casserole dishes for baking. The glass was so much easier to clean then using a metal pan, especially when making ziti or lasagna or anything that is a tough clean-up job. :waitasec:

I have switched over to mostly stoneware for my lasagna, enchiladas etc, I still have my pyrex pans but I guess when I think about it I actually bake in my stoneware more often. Never had any issues with those shattering.

 

[Kat]

I've had Pyrex shatter on me twice. Once after cooking in the oven and once when it got dropped.

 

[redkatrampant]

I am sorry, but of course glass exposed to extreme temperature changes shatters. Did no one pay attention in science class? Or listen to your grandmother?

 

[Quiche]

When I was a kid, Mom stored them high up in the cupboards-- one came down and nearly took of my arm, a big deep slice. But, I've never had one shatter and have used them for years.

Just keep a healthy respect for glass of any kind and heat. :twocents:

 

[eve]

Making cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving (cooked on the stove), I waited (I thought) until it was room temperature to tranfer it to a decorative clear glass baking dish. I heard that distinctive CRACK when I poured in the sauce. Had to throw away the cracked dish. I am glad it didn't explode. But I really did not think the sauce was hot -- just lukewarm, and I have used the bowl for years to serve hot dishes. I wonder if the glass weakens with age.

Eve

 

[grayjay]

I remember the time when this wouldn't happen. The glass has changed, imo. I remember when they put safety glass in windshields, and I asked my dad what is that. He explained it was like pyrex glass, and I knew what that meant. I've had recent purchases of those stacked measuring/mixing bowls shatter into dangerous splinters at the pour spout, just from the slight bumping during removal from the shelf. I don't think it's as heavy. I do think the formula has changed, as so many products have.

 

[bogeygal]

I remember the time when this wouldn't happen. The glass has changed, imo. I remember when they put safety glass in windshields, and I asked my dad what is that. He explained it was like pyrex glass, and I knew what that meant. I've had recent purchases of those stacked measuring/mixing bowls shatter into dangerous splinters at the pour spout, just from the slight bumping during removal from the shelf. I don't think it's as heavy. I do think the formula has changed, as so many products have.

I'll bet you're right grayjay. Come to think of it, most of my Glass pans or pyrex pans are at least 10 years old. I bought a new one for Thanksgiving and it has a light "blue gray" color. When I was cleaning out that casserole dish, I noticed a small vertical "crack" on the bottom of the glass. I wondered how it happened. Maybe the formula has changed!

 

[Linda7NJ]

Glass Bakeware Poses Shatter Risk

In case anyone missed this in the news. I use pyrex and other glass dishes for everyday cooking and for the holidays. Now I'm a bit worried.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/07/earlyshow/contributors/susankoeppen/main7125574.shtml

I use pyrex all the time too. I'm not worried

 

[browneyes]

Last year, I bought a brand new pyrex casserole dish. The first time I used it, I made baked spaghetti. While it was cooking, I heard this horrible noise and opened the oven to find the dish had shattered into hundereds of pieces. I cannot tell you how hard it was to clean all that spaghetti, melted cheese and sauce off the oven racks and elements. It also ruined my dinner. :banghead:

 

[Pandora]

I had one explode after I took it out of the oven (brownies) and set it on the counter to cool. It went after about 30 minutes, so obviously it wasn't the temp. change that did it. After that I looked at the other two I had and both had "crazing" in the glass, so I tossed them and won't buy anymore.
When I mentioned it to my MIL, she said she'd seen an article somewhere that said this became a problem when Pyrex moved their manufacturing facilities to Mexico. I never saw the article myself, but I no longer use Pyrex.

 

[bogeygal]

Pyrex Panic: Shrapnel in the Kitchen


http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/03/pyrex_panic.html

 

[bogeygal]

Three Years later: Pyrex Still Goes Boom


http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/08/pyrex.html

 

[angelmom]

I don't know if the formula has changed or not. My only experience with this was when I was a new bride (almost 20 years ago!) and put a hot glass measuring cup - I don't remember if it was Pyrex brand - in the sink and ran cold water in it. Luckily the sink contained most of the damage, but it scared the heck out of me!

One warning I will share is regarding the popularity of granite countertops. They are naturally cool, I guess, because my mom has lost numerous dishes (both glass and pottery) when she set it down on the granite. Even dishes that don't seem to be very warm have been known to break. Simply putting a dishtowel or even a cloth napkin underneath has prevented any more breakage, but the first few months with the new countertops were dangerous!

 

[bogeygal]

I don't know if the formula has changed or not. My only experience with this was when I was a new bride (almost 20 years ago!) and put a hot glass measuring cup - I don't remember if it was Pyrex brand - in the sink and ran cold water in it. Luckily the sink contained most of the damage, but it scared the heck out of me!

One warning I will share is regarding the popularity of granite countertops. They are naturally cool, I guess, because my mom has lost numerous dishes (both glass and pottery) when she set it down on the granite. Even dishes that don't seem to be very warm have been known to break. Simply putting a dishtowel or even a cloth napkin underneath has prevented any more breakage, but the first few months with the new countertops were dangerous!

angelmom, I have a granite countertop as well. I always put a large wood block cutting board under the glass casserole anyway. Now that I think about it, when taking it out of the oven (wearing mitts of course), it was so very HOT!

After reading all the stories above, I'd rather be safe than sorry. We just got a new kitchen and all new appliances, and don't want to take the chance. I'm sure I can find other uses for them. I can still use them without the oven, such as a serving platter or as a mixing pan for recipes, and other uses that I'll have to come up with!

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Overlooked key words in the article BBM: if it's not used properly, glass bakeware can suddenly shatter.

I moved out of my parents' house 30 years ago, and I've been using glass bakeware, including recently-purchased glass bakeware, all that time and I have never had anything like this happen. Nor did my mom before me with her glass bakeware as far as I recall.

The article says "the Consumer Product Safety Commission says that, from 1998 to 2007, almost 12,000 people went to emergency rooms for treatment of injuries from glass bakeware that was dropped and broken or shattered during use."

For crying out loud. ANY piece of glass, bakeware or not, even a baby food jar, that is dropped and shatters during use may cause injuries.

The real question, which I do not find the answer to in the article, is how often this glassware shatters for no apparent reason during proper use. All the article says about the CR testing is:

"In one test, they were baked in the oven on high heat, and placed on a wet countertop, something that is not recommended when using glassware."

Well duh.

If CR was testing lawn mowers, would they have subjects stick their hands into the blade mechanism while the machine was running, leading them to issue a lawn mower alert that was reported in the media with the words, "In one test, subjects stuck their hands into the blade mechanism while the motor was running, something that is not recommended when using lawn mowers?"

But I digress. Let's look at some numbers.

Let's say for the sake of argument, since we don't know for sure from the article, that 80% of those 12,000 ER visits over a 9-year period were not due to the glass shattering upon being dropped but rather due to sudden shattering for no reason. A conservative estimate to be sure since I strongly suspect that more glass bakeware is shattered from dropping than explosion.

That's 9600 injuries divided by 9 years = 1066 injuries/year = 88 injuries/month. That number spread out across the 2 to 3 million population of the US, I'd say the chances of receiving such an injury are miniscule to say the least. Far less than your chances of dying in an automobile accident. (And note the article does not mention any actual deaths.)

Bottom line IMO: If you want to be safe, use your bakeware properly but stay off the freeway.

 

[KaylynnCouture]

I'm glad someone posted this, thank you.

About a year ago, I was a victim of this (so was my son, who I was holding at the time). Thankfully, we survived (a few stitches later and we were good) but here's a little preview of what happened when I opened our oven..

 

[feddup]

I'll bet you're right grayjay. Come to think of it, most of my Glass pans or pyrex pans are at least 10 years old. I bought a new one for Thanksgiving and it has a light "blue gray" color. When I was cleaning out that casserole dish, I noticed a small vertical "crack" on the bottom of the glass. I wondered how it happened. Maybe the formula has changed!

I noticed they are a new color, too. Ive used Pyrex for yrs and never had a bad experience but I noticed on the box of new hubby bought me that it says: do not put it on a cold surfuce when you take it out of oven. Im kind of nervous now
I hope they didnt change the formula. Ive used Pyrex since 1973!