Be EXTREMELY careful if you use Pyrex bakeware.

[ToddDH]

I just received a disturbing e-mail from a friend who advised stopping using Pyrex bakeware immediately unless it was 25 years old. According to the e-mail it can shatter and in at least in some cases reported by consumers, actually explode with disastrous results. I just figured it was an Urban Legend but then discovered it's not. I researched the complaint including looking for info on ConsumerAffairs.com. Suffice it to say that as a result, I am pitching ALL of Fran's Pyrex except for a baking dish that's about 30 years. I could find absolutely nothing on the Pyrex bake site addressing this complaint.

Turns out that when Corning Glass developed the product brand Pyrex in 1915, it was made from borosilicate glass which some consider practically indestructible in household use. Corning sold it's consumer divisions one of which was Pyrex in which the brand (including the Pyrex logo)was sold in the late nineties, to a Holding Company. Evidently the complaints then started piling in..

Could this really be happening and if so why and why isn't some governmental agency stepping in and/or why isn't the manufacturer being sued up the kazoo? Evidently according to most reports, the government is dragging its feet. The company has not been successfully sued simply because while it says that the product is freezer, microwave and oven safe they have a warning in such fine print that probably few consumers would notice, much less read.

Turns out that original Pyrex was made from borosiilicate glass. Evidently it is now made from tempered lime glass, which I'm sure you'll be stunned to learn, is less expensive to manufacture. I won't bore you with the details but if you own Pyrex brand or are considering purchasing it, I would STRONGLY ADVISE YOU to check these complaints out on http:consumeraffairs.com/new04/2008/08/pyrex

Thought I'd better share this info with you.

Todd

[rollerdonna]

I got that e-mail too Todd, but my Pyrex is so old (pre- 1st marriage!) that I am not worried. I won't be buying any new ones, that's for sure!

donna

[jennc]

I had one shatter also. Not pretty believe me. The shards of glass were everywhere. I don't use them any more either.

[DougR.]

As usual, I checked this one out on scopes.com and confirmed that this is true, not an urban legend like 99% of internet warnings.

[Mike M]

A number of articles and TV reports have documented this over the last four or five years. I don't know if it is a "new" situation. Thirty years ago I had a fairly new Pyrex roaster crack on me. Once that happened I never used or bought it again.

I know there are a lot of "good old" products that once were top of the line and are now basically crap. Chicago Cutlery knives have gone from excellent cutlery to pieces of crap. Revere cookware was once a very good brand and now it is cheap thin metal with worthless handles that won't hold up. My daughter bought us a set of Revere about five years ago and it didn't cook worth a darn and the handles were wobbling and coming off within a year.

I had a set of Chicago Cutlery knives given to me by a chef when I was 20 years old. I still use the filet and boning knives. The handle on the 8" chef's knife finally went after twenty years and I bought a replacement. It was basically a club in the shape of knife. It would not hold an edge and was made of flimsy steel. Now I know why it was only $30. I tried to return it but my "reasons" for returning it didn't meet the criteria. There was no "defect" in the knife.

It's sad when quality becomes a thing of the past. The worst thing is that people will accept it.

Take care,
Mike

[Moiraine]

I wonder under what conditions do they shatter?

[Phil&Liz]

There is the following however:

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/a.../14/c4405.html

Statement: All PYREX plastic lids are BPA-free TORONTO, July 14, 2008 /CNW/ - All plastic lids manufactured for use with PYREX(R) glass bakeware, prepware and storage dishes are 100% free of bisphenol A (BPA), it was announced by Rosemont, Illinois-based World Kitchen, For more information, visit www.pyrexware.com.

http://www.pyrexware.com/thetruthaboutpyrex/index.htm

The Truth About Pyrex
PYREX® is and always has been safe for use in accordance with its Safety & Usage Instructions.
PYREX® glass bakeware has an excellent safety record, established over decades. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency charged with protecting consumers, maintains a database of injury reports to identify potentially hazardous products, and these records do not indicate any safety issue with glass bakeware. There has never been a recall of PYREX glass bakeware.

So who knows .....


Phil & Liz

[ToddDH]

Moiraine,

I can't answer your question but if you go to the Consummer Affairs website they have photos allegedly taken by consumers that show broken bakeware in the oven as well as photographs of pretty nasty burns.

It may be that there has been no recall because as I stated, there ARE warnings on the accompanying wrapping/packaging.

The part I find interesting is that evidently there are few if any reports of similar occurrences in Europe (the company over there which purchased the European Pyrex division reportedly still uses the more expensive borosilicate glass (resulting in bakeware that is reportedly around twice as expensive as the American version that uses the cheaper tempered lime glass). Yet there are evidently literally hundreds of complaints in this country.

My endeavor is merely to make my fellow cruisemates aware of consumer information about a product about which I have been informed aware can possibly pose an unexpected danger and about which from what I've read, other far better informed individuals probably including even scientists, have put forth their opinion. Others may certainly not agree.

Phil,

According to what I have read maybe the Consumer Products Safety Commision records do not reflect such complaints but obviously more than just a small number have been made to other consumer organizations. Admittedly the product IS safe when used in Accordance with its Safety and Usage Instructions but I think most of us over fifty have purchased items in the past that because of a change in content or manufacturer in a newer version, those instructions have changed. It is incumbent of course for everyone to always read such info. Most of us however, who use for decades a product for which there was never apparently an issue, the manufacture and logo of which while remaining the same may have undergone a not obvious change in the manufacture process and content that could alter the use conditions which may well have changed since we purchased the former version, will not be aware.

I think Mike hit the nail on the head with his post.

Todd

[Moiraine]

Thanks Todd.

[Delft]

I got my food sitting in some right now, and I am not to worried. Every thing can break or shatter, and does from time to time........and things that don't like plastic will supposedly increase risk of cancer, so basically I feel everything has a risk, including getting out of bed each day

[ToddDH]

How right you are Delft!

I just like to minimize the odds.

Todd

[April]

I knew about this quite awhile back and also noticed the new stuff just wasnt the same--thank goodness I wasnt my pyrex but a measuring cup that my sister got to replace an old one-----
Selfishly when my father in law passed away and we were going though things---the only thing I wanted---and didnt really need was his pyrex----which will get passed along to my family------
In this case older is better

cheers
April

[JamesRT]

April,
I do agree "OLDER" is better!

[Aerogirl]

I had a Pyrex baking pan shatter on me but it was my own fault. I was baking a chicken and added cool chicken stock to the very hot pan and it shattered. I use Pyrex just about every day and never have problems with it. Mine is about 15 years old.