California Innovations Expands Recall of Freezer Gel

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with California Innovations Inc., of Toronto, Canada, announced a voluntary recall of about 880,000 (about 248,000 units associated with lunch boxes and 55,000 associated with food carriers were previously recalled in January 2012) Ice/Hot and Ice Gel Packs.

Hazard: If the packs become damaged, they can leak gel that could contain diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which can cause illness if ingested in large amounts.

Incidents/Injuries: There have been no new reports of incidents or injuries.

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Description: The recalled products are Cryofreeze ice/hot packs and Arctic Zone ice packs. The packs are gel-filled plastic pouches with either transparent or opaque sealed wrappers. They are used to keep food hot or cold. The gel packs were sold separately and with a variety of lunch boxes, coolers and thermal carriers. Six gel pack styles are being recalled:

• Cryofreeze ice/hot packs in small and large styles. Both have opaque blue wrappers with the words "Cryofreeze," "Ice Pack/Hot Pack," "Non-toxic" and "Reusable" printed on the front:

• The small gel pack is 6 inches wide and 5.5 inches high
• The large gel pack is 8.5 inches wide and 8 inches high

• One 3-cell pack has three connected rectangular-shaped pouches of blue gel and is 7.85 inches wide and 5.5 inches high.
• Another 3-cell pack has three connected square-shaped pouches of blue gel and is 7.6 inches wide and 3 inches high.
• The 2-cell pack has two connected square-shaped pouches of blue gel and is 5 inches wide and 3 inches high.

Sold at: Mass merchandise and warehouse stores, other retailers, distributors and on-line sellers nationwide between July 2007 and December 2008 in items that retailed between $5 and $28.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the gel packs and dispose of them according to federal, state and/or local regulations. It is recommended that consumers contact their local waste disposal authority for instructions. Consumers can contact California Innovations to receive a $6 cash refund for large (8.5-inch x 8-inch) Cryofreeze gel packs or a $5 cash refund for all other gel packs.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, call California Innovations at (800) 722-2545 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, e-mail ci-recall@ca-innovations.com.