Starbucks Issues Second Recall This Year; Children Injured By Metal Straws

Starbucks Coffee Co. has issued its second product recall this year.

The current recall involves reusable stainless steel “Cold-to-Go” food grade drinking straws. It was issued after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission received reports of the straws causing mouth lacerations in children who drank from them. Three children in the U.S. and one in Canada were reportedly injured. About 2.5 million of the straws were sold in the U.S. and about 301,000 were sold in Canada.

The straws were sold exclusively at Starbucks stores nationwide and online at Starbucks.com from June 2012 through June 2016. The straws sold for about $6 for a three-pack. They also accompanied two sizes of reusable beverage cups that sold for between $11 and $30. The straws feature a ridge at the bottom that keeps them attached to the lids. The Grande straws measure approximately 9.5 inches and the Venti straws measure approximately 10.4 inches.

According to the Safety Commission, “Consumers should not allow children to handle or use the stainless steel straws.”

The straws were made in China and imported by Starbucks Corp.

“We did it out of an abundance of caution,” Starbucks spokesman Reggie Borges, said of the recall. “They could be a danger to a kid using them not as intended.”

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually.Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.

In early March, the Seattle-based coffee chain had a double food product recall because of concerns over contamination with allergens and listeria.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, one of the recalls was issued on behalf of Gretchen’s Shoebox Express, a food packing company in Seattle, because almonds in the “Cheese & Fruit Bistro Box” packs sold by Starbucks may have contained undeclared cashews. Food allergens can cause serious or life-threatening reaction if consumed by people who are allergic or sensitive to cashews.

At about the same time breakfast sandwiches were pulled from 250 Starbucks locations. The recall came from Progressive Gourmet Inc. of Wilmington, MA, which produced the 6 ounce packages of “Sausage, Egg, and Cheddar Cheese on English Muffin” breakfast sandwiches for the coffee chain. The FDA said the sandwiches were recalled “because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, … an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.”

Every person who is injured by a wrongful act deserves compensation. If you suspect a loved one was harmed or died as a result of a defective product or pre-packaged food, call the offices of trial attorneys Charles Gilman and Briggs Bedigian at 800-529-6162 or contact them online. The firm handles cases in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.