CPSC, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Announce Recall of Slow Cookers
Home product recall 04-159. Announced by CPSC on Jun 15, 2004.
- CPSC: stop using it
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. CPSC’s own notice is on cpsc.gov.
The short answer
Announced by CPSC on Jun 15, 2004. Copied from CPSC on Oct 19, 2026.
- Stop using it what CPSC tells owners to do now (needs attention)
- 146,000 units, as CPSC gives them
- None injuries, CPSC’s notice says
Every line below is in CPSC’s own words, with its source beside it.
What’s wrong with it?
The heating element can drop to the bottom of the slow cooker and melt through the plastic outer shell, posing a burn hazard to users.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What should you do?
Consumers should immediately stop using the product and return the slow cooker to Wal-Mart for a full refund.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
- How to reach the firm: Call Wal-Mart at (800) 925-6278 7:00 am through 9:00 pm Central Time, Monday through Friday or log on to www.gehousewares.com
Which ones are recalled?
The recalled General Electric (GE) Cool Touch 6 Quart Slow Cooker has a removable blue ceramic bowl with a glass lid. The enclosure that surrounds the ceramic bowl is made of plastic. The GE logo is located on the front of the unit underneath the temperature control knob. The model number 168945 is located on a silver label on the bottom of the base.
146,000 units, as CPSC gives them.
General Electric Cool Touch Slow Cooker.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
CPSC’s photos
CPSC shows 1 photo on its notice. Hearth Record doesn’t copy them; each opens on cpsc.gov.
Who made and sold it?
- Made by Select Brands, Inc., Lenexa, Kan.
- Distributed by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Bentonville, Ark.
- Wal-Mart stores nationwide, from June 2003 through May 2004, for about $28.
- Made in China, as the notice gives it.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Was anyone hurt?
Wal-Mart has received 27 reports of scorched or damaged countertops, though no injuries have been reported.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What the record doesn’t say
- The notice lists no UPCs, so check the model, the description and the photos.
- The notice lists no model numbers in a field of their own; its description may give them.
- How many have been returned or fixed isn’t in the notice.
Hearth Record wrote these lines.
Sources
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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Recalls API.
Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.
Recalls of kids’ and home products are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record. Copied on Oct 19, 2026.