Canning Jars

68YOF PRESENTS WITH A BURN AND A FALL. PATIENT STATES SHE WAS CANNING TOMATOES AND PEPPERS YESTERDAY, WHEN A JAR EXPLODED, CAUSING HER TO SUSTAIN BURNS TO HER FACE WITH BLISTERING TO HER FOREHEAD, CHIN AND LEFT SIDE OF FACE. SHE ALSO REPORTS THAT YESTERDAY SHE WAS CLEANING, SHE FELL FROM A STEP STOOL, HITTING HER RIGHT ELBOW ON THE COUNTER AND LANDING ON HER LEFT KNEE AND HIP. DX: BURN FACE

70YOF PT PRESENT WITH BURNS TO BILATERAL HANDS AND FOREARM WHILE CANNING AT HOME. DX: BURN OF FIRST DEGREE OF FOREARMS BOTH ARMS.

20YOF WAS MAKING SOUP AT HOME WHEN SHE PUT SOME BOILING WATER IN A MASON JAR THEN PUT THE LID ON IT AND IT EXPLODED ALL OVER HER RESULTING IN BURNS AND BLISTERS TO THE LEFT SIDE OF HER FACE. DX: BURN

13 YOF C/O INJ TO HAND WHEN A *** JAR SHATTERED WHILE HOLDING IT AT HOME DX LAC HAND

38YOF REPORTS WITH LACERATION TO HAND AFTER SLAMMING DOWN A *** JAR ON THE COUNTER AND IT BROKE. DX HAND LACERATION

34 YOF WAS FILLING A GLASS *** WITH BOILING WATER AND THE GLASS EXPLODED IN HER HAND. DX: DEEP PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN BACK OF HAND, SUPERFICIAL LACERATION LEFT HAND.

77YOM TO ER FOR LEFT INDEX FINGER LACERATION AFTER TRYING TO OPEN AN OLD *** JAR 1 HR AGO DX LACERATION OF LEFT INDEX FINGER W/O FOREIN BODY PRESENCE

36YOF C/O LACERATION OF RIGHT MIDDLE FINGER S/P PT STATES SHE WAS SHAKING A *** JAR AND IT HIT THE COUNTER AND BROKE, LACERATING HER FINGER. DX: LACERATION OF RIGHT MIDDLE FINGER WITHOUT FOREIGN BODY

14YOF PT THROWING GLASSES OF WATER FROM *** JARS WITH FRIEND, WHEN GLASSES STRUCK ONE ANOTHER CAUSING DEEP LAC BETWEEN 1ST & 2ND DIGITS OF RT HAND DX: LAC

26 YOM. RT HAND PAIN WHILE ATTEMPTING TO OPEN A JAR OF HONEY. DX: CONTUSION OF RT HAND

19YOM, ACCIDENTALLY CUT FINGER ON A BROKEN *** JAR DX: LACERATION OF RIGHT MIDDLE FINGER

24YOF WITH CUTS TO RT HAND POINTER FINGER AND MIDDLE FINGER AFTER A *** JAR BROKE IN HER HAND, DX: AVULSED SKIN OF RT MIDDLE FINGER, LACERATION TO RT POINTER FINGER

I have been a canner four thirty years with maybe a hands full of jars that didn't seal over those years, I purchased the ball canning lids this year and just about every jar has come unsealed after it was initially sealed for a week or two. I have lost over eight cases of vegetables, fruit and meats because of this. The lids are now thinner and made of poor quality, from a reputable company.

Failure of ball/ kerr jar lids to seal properly. Company has recently changed the design of their jars and they are now unsafe. Jars lids fail to stay sealed. This puts consumers at risk for food poisoning/ botulism due to poorly designed lids. I had four jars out of a case that were not fit for use due to improper sealant and wrinkling of lid. I received another case with broken glass inside of new jars. Jars that have sealed come unsealed after a few days of canning. I have over 40 years of canning experience and never had a failed seal until the new lids were released.

I use Ball/Kerr products for canning and have had issues with their new lids (flats) in staying sealed. I have followed all guidelines for canning and have had numerous lids come unsealed after they were canned for the appropriate time and sat cooled. Usually within 1-2 weeks it would come unsealed. This causes me great anxiety now wondering if the product I've always used is now going to cause me or my family illness. In addition the cost of product I've lost and the time and effort in canning the stuff.

I made jelly and pickles using Mainstays canning lids from Walmart. The jelly did not seal. I reprocessed it with new lids. It did not seal. I reprocessed with [REDACTED] canning lids. It sealed. The lids on the pickles looked uneven and bent in places. When I opened the jar, they were only slightly sealed. I threw them out. Botulism kills people who eat improperly canned food. I returned the unused lids to Walmart and asked that they take the Mainstays off the shelf. The manager said that they are not responsible for manufacturer defects. They only sell the products and that I could address my concerns to the manufacturer. When I search for Mainstays online, I am directed to Walmart products. I have not been able to find a separate manufacturer. I did write my concerns to Walmart. In the meantime, I do not feel that these canning lids are safe for people to use.

I have canned goods for the past 8 years and in those 8 years I have had maybe 8 jars unreal on the shelf. I have always used safe canning recipes, and have always used Ball jars and lids. This year Ball has come out with "new improved" 18 month lids. Since using the new lids I have had 15 out of 36 jars unseal on the shelf. To clarify the jars were sealed with the specifications of the label on the box. I processed the jars and they sealed, I waited 24 hrs to move them to the pantry shelf. Starting on day 3 the jars began to unseal themselves! Besides wasting my time, produce/meat, and money this is extremely unsafe! I contacted the company about the problem I (and 1000's of other canners) are having, and I received a generic response how it was my fault... according to them either my recipe, process method, or my handling of the jars was to blame. I used the ball blue book recipe and processed them as usual.

I purchased a 12" porcelain enamel Tramontina skillet with a glass lid from WalMart in Mount Airy, NC. I had washed the lid and placed it in the dish drainer on the counter. When I removed something else from the dish drainer, the lid fell to the side about 2 to 3 inches and hit the window sill. The glass shattered. This was such a minor hit that I was shocked to see the lid break. Had it fallen to the floor I might have expected it. I feel this is an unsafe product. update: Here are pictures of the replacement lid that the manufacturer sent me. I have it on the pot. Also I am sending a picture of the dish drainer it was in when it fell and broke. The lid is tempered glass but to me should not have broken with such a minor hit. It was sitting in the back third of the drainer and when I removed another item, it fell and hit the wooden window sill and shattered.

Mason jars sold on Amazon and advertised as 'FREEZER SAFE' shattered in freezer, causing glass to be mixed with food. Dangerously sharp after shattering, removal from freezer caused risk of laceration.

Several complaints regarding "Mainstay Canning Jars" sold through Wal-Mart that break during tempering and processing. Lids also have crimp in them which does not allow proper processing and sealing causing product in jars to spoil