Millions of Blenders Recalled After Causing $150,000 in Damage

Millions of portable blenders sold by BlendJet Inc. have been recalled after the company received reports of broken blades and fires resulting in $150,000 in property damage.

BlendJet Inc. of Benicia, California, announced a voluntary recall of select BlendJet 2 Portable Blenders on Thursday. Roughly 4.8 million units have been sold in the U.S. at stores like Costco, Walmart and Target from October 2020 through November 2023. Blenders were also sold online via the company's website.

The company recalled the product after receiving 329 reports of blades breaking while using the blender and 17 reports of overheating or fires that caused about $150,000 in property damage claims. There has also been 49 reports of minor burns and one report of a laceration injury.

BlendJet Inc. told Newsweek via email on Thursday, "We had a very low rate of incidents compared to the millions of BlendJet 2s in use. With so many units in use, there are many potential factors involved, some of which may have been consumer misuse.

"For example, using low-quality charging bricks, or attempting to crush ice without adding liquid first as the instructions specify, was likely the cause in many of the incidents. Viewing these issues from a customer's perspective we decided to announce this recall to ensure that all BlendJet 2s perform to our expectations."

BlendJet is a single-serving blender that can be charged and used on the go. The company markets the blender's blades as its "secret weapon" and said that the second model is "five times more powerful than BlendJet One."

"BlendJet 2's stainless steel blades are offset from the center of the base, which creates a tornado effect that blasts ingredients into the back of the jar 275 times per second, resulting in dramatically better blending," the company wrote on its website.

The USB-C charging port is "water-resistant," and consumers can get 15 blends or more from one hour of charging, according to the website.

BlendJet told Newsweek that they have improved its product following the incident reports.

"While none of the reported incidents resulted in serious injury or significant property damage, out of an abundance of caution, our company updated the base of the BlendJet 2 to feature thicker blades and an improved electrical configuration. These updates were incorporated many months ago into all BlendJet 2 devices manufactured by the company," BlendJet said. "As such, the vast majority of customers who purchased a BlendJet 2 beginning September of this year, or afterwards, received the updated base with their blender, so are not impacted by this recall."

BlendJet Inc. told consumers to use its website to find out if their blender is recalled.

"Units where the first 4 digits of the serial number are between 5201-5542 and are subject to the recall must be identified through the use of the 'Is my BlendJet 2 Recalled?' tool located at www.blendjet.com/safetyandrecall," the recall notice posted on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) website said.

BlendJet Inc. advised consumers who have a recalled blender to immediately stop using it, and the company offered to replace it with a new blender. Specific instructions were given to consumers who want a replacement blender.

"Consumers will need to remove and cut the rubber seal from the base of their recalled blender into three or more pieces and upload or email a photo showing the serial number on the bottom of the unit and its rubber seal in pieces to BlendJet at www.blendjet.com/safetyandrecall or safety@blendjet.com to receive a free replacement base," the recall notice said.

Update 12/28/23, 6:02 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from BlendJet Inc.