Bodum recalls nearly 6 million French press coffee makers over burn risk

Bodum USA is recalling about 5.9 million French press coffee makers sold under eight product lines, after the company told federal regulators that the glass carafes can shatter during use, posing a burn risk. The recall, announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on October 29, 2026, covers eight- and twelve-cup models with replaceable glass carafes sold under the names Bistro, Brazil, Caffettiera, Chambord, Crema, Java, Jesper and Kenya.

The CPSC said the carafes "can unexpectedly break during use," including when a cracked or damaged carafe is stirred with a metal spoon, creating a risk of serious burn injuries from hot liquid and broken glass.

Scope of the recall

The recalled coffee makers were sold nationwide at Target, Walmart and other coffee and home-goods retailers, as well as online at Bodum.com, Amazon.com, Target.com, Walmart.com and other websites, according to the CPSC notice. They were sold from 1974 through October 2026, for roughly $15 to $65 depending on size and finish. Bodum USA, based in New York, imports the carafes from manufacturing partners in Portugal and Thailand.

The commission's notice says Bodum has received 70 reports of carafes breaking during use, including 48 reports of burn injuries. The agency did not describe the severity of the burns reported in its notice.

French press carafes are typically made of borosilicate glass, chosen for its resistance to rapid temperature changes, but like any glass vessel it can develop micro-cracks from repeated heating, scraping or impact that are not always visible to the user. A carafe that looks intact can fail under the added mechanical stress of a metal spoon scraping its interior wall, which is the specific scenario the CPSC notice identifies as triggering some of the reported breaks.

"The carafe can unexpectedly break during use," the Consumer Product Safety Commission's recall notice states, posing a burn hazard to consumers.

A long-running product line

Bodum was founded in Copenhagen in 1944 by Peter Bodum, initially as a glassware importer, and later expanded into vacuum and press-pot coffee makers; the company is now headquartered in Switzerland and remains family-owned. Its French press line, which includes the Bistro model named in the recall, has been sold in the United States since 1974, the same year cited in the CPSC notice as the start of the sales period now under recall. The eight- and twelve-cup glass-carafe design is among the most recognizable coffee brewers sold in the U.S., commonly stocked in kitchenware aisles alongside drip machines and electric kettles.

Because the carafes are sold as a replaceable part — consumers can buy a new glass insert without replacing the whole frame — the recalled units include carafes that may have been purchased separately from the metal frame and plunger assembly years apart, which the CPSC notice flags as a reason to check both components against the recall's model list and photos.

The 52-year sales window named in the recall notice is unusually long for a CPSC action; most recalls cover products sold over a period of months or a few years. Bodum's filing does not say whether the design of the carafes changed meaningfully over that span, or whether the breakage reports cluster around any particular production era, model or size.

Who is affected and what to do

Consumers who own an affected model are identified by the Bodum name stamped or engraved on the frame, inner lid or glass carafe of most units, along with product warnings etched into the glass. The CPSC's recall listing includes photographs to help owners match their specific model and size.

The commission is telling consumers to immediately stop using metal spoons or other metal utensils to stir coffee inside the glass carafe, and to avoid using any carafe that is cracked, chipped or otherwise damaged. Bodum is offering a no-cost remedy: a free plastic stirring spoon and a warning label reminding users not to stir with metal utensils or use a damaged carafe. The company is not offering a refund or replacement carafe as part of this recall; the fix is limited to the spoon and label.

Owners can request the free kit by phone at 888-879-8213, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, by emailing Bodum's recall administrator, or through a dedicated recall website, as well as through the "Recall Information" link on Bodum.com. The CPSC notice does not instruct consumers to stop using the product outright or to return it, which distinguishes this action from recalls that require a refund, replacement or disposal of the item.

The recall drew coverage from television stations across several media groups within a day of the CPSC's announcement, including Fox-affiliated stations and Scripps-owned outlets, both of which reported the same injury and unit figures contained in the commission's notice.

What's next

The CPSC recall is listed under recall number 27-055 in the agency's database, which assigns recall numbers by federal fiscal year; fiscal year 2027 began October 1, 2026. Consumers can continue to report any new incidents involving the carafes at SaferProducts.gov, the commission's public database, and the agency routinely updates or expands a recall notice if additional injury reports come in.

The recall adds French presses to a string of kitchen and home product recalls the CPSC has issued through the fall, though the agency's notice for this one focuses narrowly on the metal-utensil and cracked-glass hazard rather than a manufacturing or design defect affecting all units equally. Consumers are not being asked to stop using the coffee makers altogether, only to change how they handle the glass carafe and to retire any carafe once it is cracked or chipped.