(New York) Procter & Gamble (P&G) recalls more than 8 million bags of Tide, Gain, Ace and Ariel laundry detergent sachets sold in the United States and Canada due to a defect in the safety packaging some products.
According to advisories issued Friday by P&G and product safety regulators in the United States and Canada, outer packaging intended to prevent easy access to liquid laundry detergent pods may open nearly the zipper, posing serious risks to children and others likely to ingest them, in addition to possible skin or eye injuries.
So far, no injuries directly related to the defect have been confirmed. During the period the recalled packs were on sale, four cases of children accessing the laundry detergent packets were reported in the United States, including three cases of ingestion – but it remains unclear whether these pods actually came from the recalled pouches, P&G and the Consumer Product Oversight Commission said.
The recall affects certain lots of Tide, Gain, Ace and Ariel laundry detergents manufactured between September 2023 and February 2024 and sold at major retailers including Walmart, Target, CVS and Amazon.
The recalled products, which can be identified by their lot code, vary in scent and size. About 8.2 million were sold in the United States and more than 56,700 in Canada.
Consumers in possession of the now recalled pouches are urged to keep the products out of the reach and sight of children and contact P&G, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, for a full refund and a replacement bag at child-proof to store detergent, which itself remains safe to use for laundry purposes.
The health risks of ingesting liquid laundry detergent have been well documented, particularly in light of the social media-fueled “Tide Pod Challenge” that exploded several years ago. Consuming detergent chemicals can cause vomiting, diarrhea, liver and kidney damage, and even death.
Beyond online trends, experts warn that children are particularly vulnerable to accidental ingestion of liquid laundry detergent packets, as they may mistake the products for candy, urging consumers to always store them safely.