Arts & Culture

Your Crock-Pot won’t kill you

Bob CollinsBob Collins Jan 25, 2018
32

Admit it, fans of the NBC series, “This is Us.” You spent part of Wednesday wondering if your Crock-Pot is a death trap.

We know now that a faulty switch on a Crock-Pot is what killed Jack, the heroic father. Next week’s episode will contain all the details as he rescues his family, as the show becomes “Us Minus One.”

The Crock-Pot. We should have known.

This is a problem for the company that makes Crock-Pots, the Washington Post says. Who’s going to buy something that might kill your family?

The company had to rush into action on Wednesday, issuing this statement:

Crock-Pot understands the concerns brought up by last night’s episode of “This Is Us,” and we too are heartbroken by the latest development in Jack’s storyline. However, it is important that our consumers understand and have confidence that all Crock-Pot slow cookers exceed all internal testing protocols and all applicable industry safety standards and regulations as verified by independent third-party testing labs.

For nearly 50 years with over 100 million Crock-Pots sold, we have never received any consumer complaints similar to the fictional events portrayed in last night’s episode. In fact, the safety and design of our product renders this type of event nearly impossible.

In addition, and most relevant to the concerns consumers are having after watching the recent “This Is Us” episode, our Crock-Pot slow cookers are low current, low wattage (typically no more than 200 or 300 watts) appliances with self-regulating, heating elements.

The product is designed to cook foods over a longer period of time at low temperatures and the switches connect to only one side of the power line voltage, so there is never a high voltage applied directly across our switches. The switches within our slow cookers are subjected to additional internal testing, which includes a Rotary Knob Endurance test, Rotary Knob Force Test and Flame Burning Test and constructed of self-extinguishing, flame resistant material.

Our hope is that the team at NBC’s “This Is Us” will help us in spreading factual information regarding our product’s safety. While we know their primary mission is to entertain — something they have continued to excel in — we also feel they have a responsibility to inform.

Just like many fans, we will be watching next week’s episode to see how Jack’s story progresses and, regardless of the outcome, we want consumers first and foremost to know they are safe when using their Crock-Pot.

As any parent can tell you, the fear of being killed by a kitchen appliance pales in comparison to the fear of being a parent.

The Post story, by the way, is the rare time you do want to read the comments.

My Crock Pot came into my bedroom while I was asleep last night and tried to kill me with a kitchen knife. I was able to fight it off, turn it back down to “low”, escape through the window and call the sheriff to activate the Crock Pot SWAT team.

The hostage negotiator is trying to talk it out now, they’ve offered conjugal visits with the hot plate if it surrenders quietly.