Was Keurig Recall Totally Overblown?

The company issued a media advisory later Tuesday morning after many of the media reports had already been published. Keurig said that the recall was voluntary and noted that the 200 incident reports the company received equaled just 0.003% of the total number of MINI Plus units the company had shipped. The reported number of injuries — 90 — is even smaller.

Keurig did not reveal when it received its first customer complaint, but the machine has been on the market since 2009. Federal law in the U.S. requires companies to report product flaws that can cause injuries to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

The CPSC did not indicate when it first received a report from Keurig, but the agency did tell CBS MoneyWatch that it was important to get the word out as soon as possible. That leads to the reasonable question of whether Keurig waited too long to report the flaw. An agency spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch that the CPSC will explore Keurig’s response to the complaints and determine whether the company waited too long to report the defects.

Keurig launched its own website at www.miniplusbrewer.com on Tuesday and published a toll-free number for U.S. and Canadian customers to call to find out if a brewer is included in the recall. The company is sending out a free repair kit to owners of the potentially defective brewing machines. Keurig also offered this advice:

Users can continue to use their MINI Plus brewers while waiting for their free repair kit. Out of an abundance of caution, we recommend that users avoid brewing more than two cups in rapid succession, and maintain an arm’s length distance from the brewer during the brewing process.

Keurig’s shares dropped about 2.3% on Tuesday to close at $136.55, in a 52-week range of $73.29 to $158.87.

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