A flask sold in millions to keep food hot has left three Americans permanently blind in one eye, prompting Thermos L.L.C. to recall around 8.2 million Stainless King food jars and Sportsman bottles after US safety officials found their stoppers can forcefully eject when opened.
The recall, announced on 30 April 2026, covers products sold for almost two decades at major retailers including Walmart and Target. Regulators say the defect has already caused dozens of documented injuries.
Design Flaw Behind Massive Recall
The recalled items are the Stainless King Food Jar, model SK3000 (16-oz), model SK3020 (24-oz), and the Sportsman Food & Beverage Bottle, model SK3010 (40-oz). According to the CPSC notice, the affected jars were manufactured before July 2023, while all SK3010 bottles are included regardless of manufacture date.
The core problem lies in the stopper. The CPSC states plainly that 'the stopper of the recalled Food Jars and Food & Beverage Bottles does not have a pressure relief in the centre'. Without that release valve, pressure that builds up from perishable food or drink stored for extended periods has nowhere to escape gradually.
Instead, when a consumer twists the lid open, that built-up pressure can launch the stopper outward with enough force to strike the user. The CPSC's hazard summary is unambiguous: the fault 'can result in serious impact injury and laceration hazards to the consumer'.
Dozens Hurt, Three Suffer Permanent Vision Loss
The injury tally disclosed by Thermos to regulators is sobering. The company has logged 27 reports of consumers struck by an ejecting stopper, spanning 'complaints of impact and laceration injuries requiring medical attention', per the CPSC filing.
Three of those consumers 'suffered permanent vision loss after being struck in the eye', the agency confirms. No fatalities have been reported, but the severity and permanence of the eye injuries helps explain why the recall spans 8.2 million units, roughly 5.8 million food jars and 2.3 million bottles, by CPSC figures.
The products were sold nationwide between around March 2008 and July 2024, a 16-year retail run, at Target, Walmart, and online via Amazon, Walmart.com, Target.com and Thermos.com, for about £24 ($30) apiece. Thermos L.L.C., based in Schaumburg, Illinois, had the jars manufactured in China and the bottles in Malaysia, the recall notice states.
How The Replacement Programme Works
Thermos is not offering refunds; it is offering replacement parts, with an unusual compliance twist. Owners of the SK3000 and SK3020 food jars will receive 'a free replacement pressure relief stopper', but only after agreeing to throw away their old, hazardous stopper and 'send a photo of the disposed stopper to Thermos' as proof, according to the recall's remedy section.
Owners of the 40-oz SK3010 Sportsman bottle face a different process altogether. Because the bottle itself is implicated rather than just the lid, those consumers must return the entire unit to Thermos using a prepaid shipping label, in exchange for a replacement bottle.
In every case, the CPSC's instruction to consumers is clear and immediate: 'Consumers should stop using the recalled Food Jars and Bottles immediately.' Owners can identify their containers by locating the model number printed on the base, alongside the Thermos trademark on the side of the vessel.
What Affected Customers Should Do Now
Consumers seeking a replacement can contact Thermos through its support portal at support.thermos.com, via the 'Contact Us' or 'Recall Info' links on Thermos.com, or by phone on 662-563-6822, available 07:00 to 15:30 Central Time, Monday to Friday. Anyone who believes Thermos has been unresponsive to a remedy request can file a complaint directly with the CPSC via its online recall complaint form.
The recall is logged under CPSC recall number 26-444, and it joins a series of other 2026 recalls, including button-battery shot glasses and collapsible children's stools, that the agency says reflect ongoing scrutiny of everyday household products. Anyone who has experienced an incident with these containers can also report it via SaferProducts.gov or the CPSC's consumer hotline on 800-638-2772.
