Keurig Green Mountain Paying Civil Penalty for Delayed Defect Reporting
In addition to paying the $5.8 million penalty, Keurig has agreed to develop, implement, and maintain a compliance program that is designed to ensure that it complies with the Consumer Product Safety Act.
Keurig Green Mountain, Inc., of Waterbury, Vt., has agreed to pay a $5.8 million civil penalty to the federal government to settle charges that Keurig knowingly failed to report a defect and unreasonable risk of serious injury immediately to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC reported the settlement Feb. 21 and indicated it involved Keurig MINI Plus Brewing Systems.
The company recalled about 6.6 million MINI Plus brewers in December 2014. Between 2010 and 2014, Keurig received about 200 reports of hot water, coffee, and coffee grounds spraying out of the brewers, and in more than 100 of those incidents, consumers suffered burn-related injuries to their faces, hands, and bodies -- some of the injuries were severe and resulted in second- and third-degree burns, according to the agency.
In addition to paying a penalty, Keurig has agreed to develop, implement, and maintain a compliance program that is designed to ensure that it complies with the Consumer Product Safety Act.
The brewers were sold at Kmart, Kohl’s, Target, Walmart, and other stores nationwide and online at www.keurig.com, www.greenmountaincoffee.com, and www.keurig.ca from December 2009 through December 2014 for about $100. CPSC noted that Keurig's settlement does not constitute an admission of the CPSC staff's charges, and that the penalty agreement has been accepted provisionally by the commission by a 4-1 vote.