Kmart and Coles shoppers send warnings about 'exploding' cookware: 'Glass everywhere'
A Kmart shopper is calling for others to be cautious after a popular kitchen item shattered while she was preparing dinner for her children.
The customer said she'd scored one of Kmart's popular Anko brand three-tiered steamers for $20.
"I loved it, thinking it was one of the best bargains I'd ever scored," she said.
However after owning the product for two months, the mum found that it suddenly broke while she was steaming vegetables for her family's dinner.
"The lid completely shattered out of the blue and I had to throw away the vegetables as there were glass pieces all over them," she told Yahoo News.
"When it shattered I was stunned and disappointed. But I'm grateful I didn't have my hand near the lid and the glass pieces didn't cut me.
"When I got it I was delighted to have scored a bargain, but now I'm considering going for a not-so-cheap item. I just want to warn others of this steamer."
Yahoo News reached out to Kmart regarding the broken product but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
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Coles customer's baking dish shatters in oven: 'Terrified'
A Coles customer also found herself with broken cookware last week, warning others to "please be careful" after an item she purchased from the supermarket unexpectedly shattered in her oven.
"I was cooking a pork roast for about an hour and I was sitting in my bedroom," the customer told Yahoo News.
"I heard what sounded like a huge bang; I was terrified. I came into my kitchen to see that the dish had exploded in my oven, cracking the glass on my oven door."
The dish was earned through Coles' newest FlyBuys promotion, which allows customers to earn credits to redeem for KitchenAid cookware.
"If you have this dishware, please be careful," she warned on the Coles Facebook page.
A Coles spokesperson told Yahoo News: "We have contacted the customer and will be investigating the matter with our supplier."
The spokesperson also referred to safety and care instructions for the KitchenAid Ovenware range which can be found on the KitchenAid website.
Cold weather be to blame?
Popular food website Kitchn states that quick transitions from cold to hot can cause glass cookware to break due to thermal shock.
"Different sections of a piece of bakeware can expand or contract differently and cause it to lose its structure, resulting in a shattering effect," reads a blog on the Kitchn site.
Other glass manufacturers also warn that thermal shock can occur in glass "when there's a significant change in the outdoor air temperature."
Coles' KitchenAid care instructions warn customers to "not set hot ceramics on a cold or wet surface to avoid possible damage".
Kmart's website warns that its steamer's handles can become hot, but does not provide specific instructions about the product's glass lid.
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