Conair has added about 1.9 million more Cuisinart grill brushes to a recall that now covers roughly 3.6 million units, and the expanded notice reaches something the earlier one did not. Every Cuisinart wire-bristle grill brush is now included, including older models sold before 2020 that have no listed model number.
The hazard has not changed. Small metal wire bristles can break off the brush, stick to the grill grate, and end up in food. A swallowed bristle can lodge in the throat or the digestive tract, and removing it can require medical treatment or surgery. Conair has recorded at least 54 reports and reviews of bristles detaching, including three cases in which people swallowed bristles and sought medical treatment to have them removed.
What changed for households is the checking instruction. Under the earlier notice, a consumer could look up a model number and conclude their brush was fine. That is no longer true. If the brush is a Cuisinart with metal wire bristles, it is recalled.
Every Cuisinart Wire Bristle Brush Is Now Included
The expanded recall adds 1,905,805 brushes to the 1,719,995 covered by the original action, for a total of 3,625,800.
Thirteen model numbers join the recall: CGWM-024, CGWM-059, FCB-501, CGS-W18, CCB-134, CGWM-061, CB-395, CCB-3001, CGWM-077, CGWM-058, CCB-012/021, CGWM-060 and FBH-51. The previously recalled models were CCB-100, CCB-4125, CCB-5014, CCB-6450, CCB-8012, CCB-4114, CCB-W2 and CSBS-777. Some brushes also arrived inside grill tool sets, including the Premium Grill 10 Piece set, the 13 Piece Wooden Handle Grill Tool Set, the 14 Piece Deluxe Stainless Steel Grill Set, and the 20 Piece Deluxe Grill Set.
The brushes were sold at Walmart, Burlington, TJ Maxx, and Ross, and online through Amazon and Cuisinart.com, from June 2009 through March 2026, for $8 to $20. That is a sales window of almost seventeen years, which means many of these brushes are sitting in garages and grill carts belonging to people who no longer remember buying them. The word Cuisinart is stamped on the handle of most of the listed models, though the notice identifies two exceptions in which it is not.
Detached Bristles Are Hard to See and Harder to Find
The reason this hazard can produce surgery rather than a scrape is that the bristle is thin, shiny and roughly the color of a grill grate. It can transfer to food unnoticed and be swallowed without being felt.
Once inside, a bristle can lodge anywhere from the throat to the bowel. Symptoms that follow a barbecue meal and should prompt a call to a clinician include a persistent sensation of something stuck in the throat, painful swallowing, sharp abdominal pain, or fever developing over the following days. Severe abdominal pain, vomiting, difficulty breathing, or signs of bleeding are reasons to seek urgent care rather than wait.
Thin metal fragments like these can be missed on a plain X-ray, which is part of why these cases can take time to diagnose. Anyone seeking care should mention the grill brush directly, because that history is what points a clinician toward the right imaging.
Prevention is simpler than detection. Wiping the grate with a folded paper towel or a clean cloth after brushing catches loose bristles before food touches the surface, and inspecting the brush head for gaps or splayed wires takes seconds. A brush that is shedding visibly has already failed and should not be used again.
Three Brands Have Pulled More Than Seventeen Million Brushes This Year
The Cuisinart action is the third major wire brush recall in this product category this year. Weber recalled about 3.2 million brushes in February after 38 detachment reports and four people sought treatment for swallowed bristles. Nexgrill recalled about 10.2 million sold at Home Depot in March, tied to 68 detachment reports and five people who required treatment. Together with Conair, that is more than 17 million brushes recalled by three brands in roughly six months.
The commission has framed this as a design problem rather than a manufacturing lapse at any single company. Announcing the Weber action, CPSC Chairman Peter A. Feldman urged consumers to stop using metal wire brushes and to switch to safer cleaning tools, saying they should "switch to non-wire alternatives." He added that the commission was reviewing the product category more broadly.
That guidance is broader than any one brand. Nylon bristle brushes designed for cool grates, coiled metal spring scrapers without individual bristles, wooden scrapers, and steam-based cleaners all avoid the loose-bristle failure mode. Households replacing a recalled brush should not simply buy another wire brush from a different manufacturer.
Feldman also urged consumers not to wait for grilling season to act. Brushes bought years ago and used a few times each summer are the ones least likely to be checked and most likely to have degraded.
Refund Options Include a Store Credit Premium
Consumers are told to stop using the brush immediately and contact Conair for a full refund. There is a second option: a credit for use on Cuisinart.com equal to the refund amount plus an additional 20 percent of the cash refund. Either way, the brush is discarded rather than shipped back.
Claims go through the recall claim portal or Conair's toll-free line at 888-520-1304 on weekdays. Conair LLC of Stamford, Connecticut is listed as the importer, and the brushes were manufactured in China.
For families deciding what to do before the next cookout, a useful step is a two-minute check of the grill area rather than searching for paperwork. Pull out every grill brush in the house, look for wire bristles, and set aside any that are Cuisinart-branded. If a brush has loose or missing bristles, the grate it was last used on deserves a close inspection before anything is cooked on it.
Key Questions Answered
How do I know if my brush is recalled? If it is a Cuisinart brush with metal wire bristles, it is included. The expansion covers all Cuisinart wire-bristle grill brushes, including unlisted models sold before 2020.
How many people have been hurt? Conair has recorded at least 54 reports and reviews of bristles detaching, and three people who swallowed bristles and sought medical treatment to have them removed.
Where were these sold? Walmart, Burlington, TJ Maxx, and Ross stores, plus Amazon and Cuisinart.com, over a sales window running from June 2009 through March 2026 at $8 to $20.
What should I watch for after eating grilled food? A persistent feeling of something caught in the throat, painful swallowing, or sharp abdominal pain are reasons to contact a clinician. Severe pain, vomiting, or trouble breathing warrant urgent care.
Do I have to mail the brush back? No. Consumers are asked to discard the brush and claim a refund, or to take a Cuisinart.com credit equal to the refund amount plus 20 percent of the cash amount.
Is a different brand of wire brush safer? Three brands have now recalled wire bristle brushes for the same defect this year. Federal regulators have generally advised switching to non-wire cleaning tools.
What can I use instead? Nylon brushes rated for cool grates, coiled metal scrapers without loose bristles, wooden scrapers, and steam cleaning tools all avoid the detachment problem.
