GREENSBORO, N.C. — A warning about a popular product in many of our laundry rooms – Procter & Gamble has recalled more than eight million packages of its popular liquid laundry detergent pods because a bag defect could make the colorful packs accessible to children and others.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, some of the flexible, child-resistant bags of Procter & Gamble’s liquid laundry detergent pods can split open near the zipper.
The recalled products were made between September 2023 and February 2024 and sold as Tide Pods, Gain Flings, Ace Pods, and Ariel Pods.
P&G explained, “While the product inside remains safe to use, we are voluntarily recalling a limited number of laundry pac bags and providing consumers with a replacement bag…”
In its recall notice, the Consumer Product Safety Commission urges consumers to immediately secure their detergent packages out of children’s reach and contact P&G for a refund and replacement child-resistant bag to store the pods.
You will need your lot code on your product. You can find the impacted lot codes here.
"Every year, poison control centers continue to receive thousands of calls related to laundry pod exposure, and when you look at these laundry pods, you see that they're squishy. They're fun to touch. They're colorful and look a lot like candy. All of these characteristics make them super attractive to a child who might want to explore with their hands and mouths. These pods use highly concentrated detergents, putting children and cognitively impaired adults at serious risk," said Oriene Shin, Consumer Reports.
As early as 2012, CR called on manufacturers to make detergent pods safer and argued that outer packaging should meet federal standards for child-resistant packaging under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act.
"Every manufacturer is responsible for using appropriate product packaging to keep kids safe and ensure its packaging is truly child-resistant before it reaches the homes of millions of consumers," said Shin.
If you think someone ingested a laundry pod, call a poison control center at 800-222-1222 or 9-1-1 and seek immediate medical attention.