Gourmia recalls 176,000 air fryer ovens after French doors burn 40 people

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Nov. 5 that Gourmia is recalling about 175,951 digital air fryer ovens after the company reported dozens of burn injuries linked to glass doors that can snap shut without warning while consumers reach in for hot food.

The recalled item is the Gourmia Stainless Steel Digital 9-Slice Digital Air Fryer Oven, model GTF7530, identified by UPC 810002862779 and a date code printed on a label on the back of the unit. The stainless-steel countertop appliance has two spring-loaded glass doors, hinged at the center and fitted with metal handles, that swing open French-door style to reveal nine cooking racks. According to the commission, Gourmia has received 57 reports of the doors closing unexpectedly as people retrieved food, resulting in 40 reported burns to hands and wrists. No reports of hospitalization were included in the notice.

The ovens were sold exclusively at Target stores nationwide and on Target.com from October 2021 through June of this year, at a price of roughly $150. The importer is the Steelstone Group LLC, doing business as Gourmia, based in Brooklyn, New York; the ovens were manufactured in China. Gourmia is offering a free repair kit, consisting of a doorstop and installation instructions, rather than a refund or replacement, and says consumers do not need a receipt to request one. The company can be reached toll-free at 888-834-0092 on weekdays or through gourmia.com/recall.asp.

How a kitchen convenience became a hazard

The French-door design that drew shoppers to the Gourmia oven, marketed as giving easier visibility and access while air frying, roasting or broiling, is also what regulators say turned dangerous. The doors are spring-loaded so they swing open fully for loading and unloading food, but that same spring tension means a door bumped from outside, or released slightly off-center, can swing closed on its own. Consumers reaching in with both hands to lift out a hot tray or rack have had the heated glass and metal handle come down across their wrists or fingers.

The commission's notice is blunt about the mechanism:

The oven doors can unexpectedly close when bumped, posing a burn hazard to consumers retrieving hot food from the ovens.

Coverage of the recall from USA Today, the consumer-tech outlet Techlicious and Washington's FOX 5 DC confirms the same figures published by the commission: about 176,000 ovens, 57 incident reports and 40 injuries, with Gourmia's repair kit as the only remedy offered so far.

A recurring design problem, not a first-time one

Gourmia's recall is at least the third involving French-door countertop ovens cited for the identical failure mode in a little over a year. Last September, Sunbeam Products recalled roughly 1.29 million Oster French Door Countertop Ovens sold in the United States after the firm logged 95 reports of doors unexpectedly closing, including two second-degree burns; that remedy was also a mailed repair kit, in that case a clip-on device meant to hold the doors open.

Then, on Oct. 15, the commission issued a public warning, rather than a recall, for Kalorik MAXX and MAXX Advance air fryer ovens, which use the same spring-loaded glass French-door configuration. The agency said it was aware of dozens of reported burns, including at least one report of scarring consistent with a second-degree burn, but could not secure a recall because the ovens' original importers had gone out of business and the brand's current owner, the Legacy Companies LLC, declined to take part. Absent a company willing to act, the commission's only option was to tell owners to stop using the ovens and dispose of them through local hazardous-waste channels, with no repair or refund offered at all.

Multi-function air fryer ovens, which combine a toaster oven's capacity with an air fryer's convection heat, have become one of the fastest-growing categories of American kitchen appliances over the past five years, frequently replacing both smaller countertop toasters and compact air fryer baskets. Several manufacturers have adopted the double-glass-door format specifically because it lets a larger oven cavity open without swinging a single heavy door into the surrounding counter space. The repeated burn reports across three competing brands suggest the convenience has come with a shared engineering weakness that the industry has not yet resolved.

Who owns one, and what happens now

Because the Gourmia oven sold at a single national chain for nearly five years, the units are dispersed across Target's customer base rather than concentrated in any one region. Consumers who bought the GTF7530 are advised to stop using it immediately, even for routine cooking, until the free doorstop kit arrives and is installed; Gourmia has told reporters the kits are expected to ship within two to four weeks of a request.

The commission's enforcement record this autumn illustrates the limits of its own authority: it can compel a recall and a free fix from a cooperating importer, as with Gourmia and Oster, but when a company has dissolved or refuses to participate, as with Kalorik's current owner, the agency can only publicize the danger and tell owners to throw the product away. For Gourmia customers, the distinction matters less than the immediate advice attached to all three cases, including this one: treat a spring-loaded oven door with caution, keep hands clear of the hinge when lifting out hot trays, and register for the repair kit rather than assuming the appliance is safe to keep using as before. Consumers with questions about eligibility, or who have not received a kit within a reasonable period, can follow up directly with Gourmia or check the commission's recall listing for updates.