FILE PHOTO: Procter & Gamble's factory in Tabler Station, West Virginia
(Reuters) – Procter & Gamble is recalling 8.2 million defective bags of some of its laundry detergent pods in the U.S. due to a packaging flaw that could pose a risk of injury to children, the Tide maker said on Friday.
The voluntary recall was for Tide Pods, Gain Flings, Ace Pods and Ariel Pods liquid laundry detergent packaged in flexible film bags and manufactured between September 2023 and February 2024.
There were three reports of children who ingested the contents of the laundry packets, P&G said, adding there were no confirmed cases of incidents or injuries directly related to the packaging defect.
The risk was posed by the outer packaging of the bags that could split open near the zipper track, exposing children to chemicals in these detergent pods.
Chemicals in laundry pods can cause seizures, coma, severe breathing impairments, eye damage and burns.
The recall also involves about 56,741 units sold in Canada.
Laundry detergent pods were introduced in the U.S. market in 2012. The all-in-one brightly colored packets contain detergent that is released during the wash, eliminating the need for users to measure the detergent.
P&G had earlier too come under the spotlight over safety issues around pod detergents. In 2012, the company said it would add a safety latch to its detergent pods, after a child was hospitalized for swallowing the contents.
(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
