Forty-five people have reported being injured by their Thermomix cooking appliance and the company has been accused of blaming the victim and downplaying the danger posed by the device.
Consumer advocacy group Choice has collated a mass incident report – citing 87 Thermomix complaints, of which 18 required treatment by a doctor or nurse. Eight people were hospitalised and one victim was treated in a specialist burns unit for three weeks.
The appliance, which costs around $2,000, is a kitchen cooker and processor in one. It can cook pasta, stew meats, boil liquids, steam vegetables, crush ice or grill meats, amongst other things.
Choice received 83 complaints regarding the TM31 model which was recalled in October 2014.
Choice said it wanted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commissioner (ACCC) to investigate.
One customer reported being burnt by hot soup when using the appliance. Another reported hospitalisation and permanent scarring from Thermomix failures, yet many were told “user error” was to blame when they notified the company, Choice’s spokesman Tom Godfrey said on Thursday.
“It is deeply concerning that, in a number of cases, when the company was informed of an incident they blamed the consumer by classifying the product’s failure as ‘user error’,” Godfrey said.
He said Thermomix should have reported issues to the federal consumer affairs minister on at least 10 occasions following customer injuries.
Choice said consumers had reported Thermomix accidents more than a year before the TM31 was listed on the ACCC’s Product Safety Recalls Australia website.
“Under ACCC’s mandatory reporting guidelines a supplier must provide written notice to the commonwealth minister for consumer affairs within two days of becoming aware that someone suffered a serious injury or illness that was caused [or may have been caused] by the use or foreseeable misuse of their product,” said Godfrey.
“Based on the incidents identified in our report, it appears Thermomix should have made at least two mandatory reports before October 2014 and another eight after that date.
“A responsible company should have acted quickly to address any dangers with products but, based on consumer reports, Thermomix Australia took more than a year between initial notification and recall.”
Thermomix on Thursday said it was aware of the allegations contained in the Choice report.
“The safety, welfare and support of our customers is, and always has been, our highest priority,” the company said in a statement, adding it had always cooperated with the ACCC and would continue to do so.
Key points from the Choice mass incident report
* 87 reports of problems with a Thermomix product
* 83 for the TM31 product and four regarding the TM5 product
* In 45 reports a consumer was harmed
* 18 people reported having to receive treatment from a doctor or nurse
* Eight people were hospitalised
* Six of those were treated in a specialist burns unit
* 12 people were harmed before the October 2014 TM31 recall
* 18 people were harmed after the recall but were using the green sealing ring supplied to rectify problems
* 53 people complained to Thermomix Australia and only five people were happy with the resolution
* 33 cases of ongoing issues with their machines
* 26 near-miss cases of spitting or exploding hot liquid.
Source: Choice
