Procter & Gamble has initiated a recall of over 8 million bags of Tide, Gain, Ace and Ariel laundry detergent packets sold in the United States and Canada due to a flaw in the products’ child-resistant packaging.
According to notifications released on Friday by both P&G and product-safety regulators in the US and Canada, the outer packaging, designed to prevent easy access to the liquid laundry detergent pods, may split open near the zipper track, posing serious risks to children and others who may ingest them, as well as potential skin or eye injuries.
As of now, there have been no confirmed injuries directly linked to the defect. However, during the period when the recalled lots were sold, there were four reports of children gaining access to the laundry packets in the US, including three cases of ingestion. Whether these pods originated from the recalled bags is still undetermined, according to statements from P&G and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The recall affects specific batches of Tide, Gain, Ace, and Ariel laundry detergents manufactured between September 2023 and February 2024, and distributed through major retailers such as Walmart, Target, CVS and Amazon.
The recalled products, identifiable by lot code, come in various scents and sizes. Approximately 8.2 million were sold in the US and more than 56,700 in Canada.
Consumers who possess the recalled bags are advised to keep the products out of reach and sight of children and to contact P&G, headquartered in Cincinnati, for a full refund and replacement child-resistant bag for storing the detergent, which remains safe for laundry use.
Health risks associated with ingesting liquid laundry detergent are well-documented, particularly in light of the social media-driven “Tide Pod challenge” that gained widespread attention several years ago. Ingesting the chemicals in the detergents can lead to symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, liver and kidney damage and in extreme cases, death.
Experts caution that children are particularly susceptible to accidentally ingesting liquid laundry packets, as they may mistake them for candy, underscoring the importance of securely storing these products at all times.
