CPSC NEISS · code 417

Flatware (excl. Knives)

Flatware (excl. Knives): danger rank #256 of 838 is not ER-volume rank #268 of 838 (5,917 estimated ER visits a year; roughly flat over the last five years).

Containers, Tableware & Packaging CPSC NEISS through 2024

Danger score versus ER volume

Danger score versus ER volume

According to CPSC NEISS 2005-2024, Flatware (excl. Knives) ranks #256 of 838 by danger score (38/100) at ER-volume #268 of 838 (5,917/yr). They are not the same ranking.

#256
danger rank of 838
#268
ER-volume rank of 838
38/100
danger score
5,917/yr
estimated ER visits (avg)

Danger score combines injury volume, hospitalization, fatality, and five-year trend. ER volume is the average annual NEISS estimate alone. Rank 1 is highest on each list.

Where this category's danger score sits nationally

Danger score (38/100) across 838 scored CPSC product categories

38 Around the middle lower than 30% of 838 product categories

scored CPSC product categories, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more product categories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source CPSC NEISS, PlainSafety danger-score model · 2024

Composite verdict

Composite Safety Score: 60/100

One verdict blending 4 independently-sourced dimensions from two separate CPSC systems, each benchmarked against all 838 scored product categories by percentile rather than raw value, so no single huge-volume category can dominate the scale.

D
Dimension Value National percentile Weight applied Source
Injury severity (hospitalization + fatality blend) 6 55th 35% CPSC NEISS 20-year severity index
Annual ER injury volume 5,917 61st 30% CPSC NEISS estimated annual ER-treated injuries
5-year injury trend -2% 62nd 15% CPSC NEISS 5-year % change in ER-treated injuries
Consumer incident reports 33 64th 20% CPSC SaferProducts.gov public incident report count

Methodology: each dimension is ranked against the full population's p10/p25/p50/p75/p90 breakpoints and interpolated to a 0-100 percentile; the composite is the weighted average of available percentiles. See methodology for the full benchmark table.

Where 118,364 estimated ER injuries land on the body

Body-part shares from the same CPSC NEISS injury_types extract for product code 417. Segments sum to 118,364 - a body-map mix, not a danger score or ER-volume rank.

Two danger lenses

Same-group peer scores and this product's dial

The bars compare PlainSafety danger scores inside the Containers, Tableware & Packaging group (same CPSC NEISS extract). The dial is this product's score alone on the Low/Moderate/High bands. Do not read a peer bar as an ER-visit count.

Containers, Tableware & Packaging danger scores

1. Waste Containers, Trash B…45/1002. Knives, Not Elsewhere Cla…44/1003. Drinking Glasses, Cups, A…42/1004. Cookware, Not Specified42/1005. Manual Cleaning Equipment…41/1006. Kitchen Gadgets, Not Else…41/1007. Unpowered Coffee Makers O…41/1008. Flatware (excl. Knives)38/100
Higher score = higher composite danger in this group. Peer set is other scored products sharing the same CPSC group.
0/100100/10038/100
PlainSafety danger score · Flatware (excl. Knives)

Source: CPSC NEISS danger-score model As of 2024

How this 38/100 score is built

The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for flatware (excl. knives) - no opinion, no editorializing:

  • Injury volume 5,917 ER visits/yr Above median volume
  • Severity (hospitalization rate) 6.5% Above median admission rate
  • Fatality rate 0.00% No recorded fatalities
  • 5-year trend-2%

Band labels compare this category against the corpus of 838 scored CPSC product categories, see the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.

What the CPSC Data Shows

Across the 20-year NEISS window from 2005 to 2024, injury counts for flatware (excl. knives) are roughly flat over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2024 (7,358 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2005 (4,373 estimated visits). The single most common ER diagnosis is ingestion to the internal, accounting for approximately 24,057 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by contusions, abr. to the eyeball (9,919 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 34,799 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 6.5% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.

Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 33 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how flatware (excl. knives) fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.

Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)

4K5K6K7K8K 20052008201120142017202020232024 7K
Estimated annual emergency-room visits for Flatware (excl. Knives), CPSC NEISS

Source: CPSC NEISS national injury estimates As of 2024

Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only

Who Gets Injured?

Age Group Male Female Total
0-4 20,482 14,317 34,799
5-14 10,534 9,116 19,730
15-24 6,668 5,633 12,381
25-34 6,877 6,461 13,338
35-44 4,936 5,924 10,911
45-54 3,443 4,135 7,578
55-64 2,583 4,861 7,444
65-74 1,724 3,207 4,931
75+ 2,452 4,779 7,231

Most Common Injuries

Body Part Diagnosis Est. Injuries
Internal Ingestion 24,057
Eyeball Contusions, Abr. 9,919
Mouth Laceration 7,580
Finger Laceration 5,723
Face Laceration 4,574
Hand Puncture 3,491
Finger Puncture 3,355
Hand Laceration 2,667
Internal Aspiration 2,185
Mouth Dental Injury 2,030
Eyeball Other 1,993
Face Contusions, Abr. 1,843
Foot Puncture 1,748
Mouth Contusions, Abr. 1,622
Head Internal Injury 1,619

Severity Breakdown

Treated/examined And Released 91.4% (108,178)
Treated And Admitted/hospitalized 5.0% (5,894)
Treated And Transferred 1.6% (1,905)
Left Without Being Seen 1.5% (1,730)
Held For Observation 0.6% (657)

ER Visit Narratives

Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.

Age 37 · Male · Internal · Ingestion · 2024

37YOM-AT 10:30 AM HE WAS EATING LUNCH AND STATES THAT HE SWALLOWED A PLASTIC SPOON/FORK. PATIENT IS A PRISONER AND HAS A HISTORY OF SWALLOWING FOREIGN OBJECTS. PATIENT WAS TAKEN TO SURGERY FOR FB REMOVAL AND DISCHARGED BACK TO PRISON. DX: INTERNAL FOREIGN BODY

Age 76 · Female · Hand · Other · 2024

76 YOF HAS HAND PAIN AFTER STIRRING FOOD DX: PAIN

Age 36 · Male · Internal · Ingestion · 2024

36 YOM INGESTED A SPORK HANDLE APPROXIMATELY 3-5 DAYS AGO AT JAIL. DX: FOREIGN BODY IN DIGESTIVE TRACT.

Age 56 · Female · Hand · Laceration · 2024

56YOF WAS HELPING HER SON OPEN UP SOME SILVERWARE THAT HAD PLASTIC WRAP AROUND IT WITH A POCKET KNIFE AND CUT HER LEFT LAND DX: LACERATION OF LEFT HAND

Age 28 · Male · Internal · Ingestion · 2024

28YOM INGESTED PLASTIC FORK, TO ED WITH C/O OF ABD PAIN, DX SWALLOWED FB, ABD PAIN

Age 36 · Male · Internal · Ingestion · 2024

36 YOM STATES THAT AN HOUR PRIOR TO ARRIVAL HE SWALLOWED A PLASTIC SPORK. HE DID THIS BECAUSE HE DID NOT LIKE THE AREA WHERE HE IS BEING HELD AT JAIL. DX: FOREIGN BODY IN DIGESTIVE TRACT.

Age 32 · Female · Internal · Ingestion · 2024

32 YOF INGESTED A SPOON AT JAIL 2 HOURS AGO. DX: SWALLOWED FOREIGN BODY. PT LEFT AMA.

Age 25 · Female · Mouth · Dental Injury · 2024

25YOF WAS EATING FOOD AND WAS STARTLED AND CHIPPED HER TOOTH WITH A FORK DX: CLOSED FX OF TOOTH

Age 64 · Male · Eyeball · Contusions, Abr. · 2024

64 YOM BENT OVER IN HIS GARAGE WHEN A 3 PRONGED FORK/ UTENSIL FELL AND HIT HIM IN THE EYE. DX: CORNEAL ABRASIONS

Age 222 · Male · Mouth · Contusions, Abr. · 2024

22MOM WAS RUNNING WITH A PLASTIC FORK IN HIS MOUTH AND HE FELL FORK POKED PALLET DX ABRASION OF SOFT PALATE

Age 9 · Female · Hand · Burns, Thermal · 2024

9YOF TOUCHED A FORK THAT WAS ON THE HOT GAS STOVE AT HOME WITH RIGHT HAND. DX: BURN OF HAND.

Age 11 · Male · Lower Trunk · Burn, Scald · 2024

11YOM WAS REACHING FOR A SPOON WHILE HOLDING A POT OF BOILING WATER WHEN HE SPILLED THE WATER ON HIS ABDOMEN. DX: BURN OF ABDOMEN; LEFT WITHOUT BEING SEEN.

Consumer Incident Reports

Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.

9/5/2023 · No Incident, No Injury · Wuhan Jiasi Manda Electronic Commerce Co., Ltd. · United States

Cutlery set contains brass fittings that test positive for lead. The product is sold on Amazon as "WiTisve Camping Travel Cutlery Set". I have reported this to Amazon for investigation. The product is labeled as "lead-free" and "safe"

9/30/2024 · Incident, No Injury · Munchkin Inc. · Arkansas

My daughter has been using the Munchkin color reveal spoons and forks. We realized theres a lingering chemical taste no matter how many times we wash them. She also developed some speech impairments while using them. We arent totally sure they caused it, but we know her speech issues disappeared around the same time we stopped use of the product. On Targets website there are multiple reviews that state the cutlery has a chemical taste.

9/28/2018 · Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received · Gibson Overseas Inc. · Unspecified

This flatware will eventually snap off at the plastic and break from the metal. It caused severe burns to my hand when the fork broke in half and my hand hit the plate and hot food flipped all over me.

9/17/2024 · Incident, No Injury · Munchkin Inc. · Texas

My child's utensil had a small piece fall out. This happened with two separate items of the same type. The first time it wasn't a big deal - I noticed it right away. The second time it fell into my daughter's food. She told an adult, but I fear another kid could end up eating it or choking on it.

8/26/2011 · Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received · GENEVIEVE LETHU (AMERICAN RETAIL STORE) · Illinois

Tonight, I cut inside of my mouth with a brand new soup spoon with a plastic handle, bought at a kitchen specialty store, "Genevieve Lethu" at 900 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, yesterday on 8-25-11. The spoon was made in France with engraved mark which says "INDX MADE IN FRANCE". I was eating a bowl of soup with the spoon when I felt a sharp pain in my mouth. There was a cut, inside my cheek, like a cut made by razer blade - but it was the edge of the spoon made the cut. I looked at the spoon and realized that the edge of the spoon was coarse yet sharp. I intend to report the incident to the store tomorrow so that other people will not get hurt by buying and using the same type of spoon at the store. I am reporting the incident so that the store will act on this promptly and properly.

8/14/2025 · Incident, No Injury · Munchkin Inc. · Maryland

Product is designed so that with long-term use a piece of plastic comes off due to wear and tear. That piece of plastic made it into my toddler's mouth last night. He spit it out. I have concerns that another child might not.

8/12/2024 · Injury, First Aid Received by Non-Medical Professional · Target · United States

The fork cut my hand while I was washing it. Deep cut with bleeding. It was the side of the fork metal part

7/9/2024 · Incident, No Injury · Munchkin Inc. · Virginia

Munchkin temperature color changing spoons and for taste like chemicals.

Showing 8 of 33 reports.

Product Recalls

Search for active and past recalls related to flatware (excl. knives) on the CPSC website.

Compare beyond Containers, Tableware & Packaging

Nationwide peers by danger score, ER volume & hospitalization

Three PlainSafety-derived comparison paths for Flatware (excl. Knives): cross-group products nearest on danger score (38/100), estimated annual ER visits (5,917/yr), and hospitalization share (6.5%). Same-group neighbours stay in Related Products above.

Read with this product

About this data

CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports form the basis of this page. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments.

According to PlainSafety's CPSC NEISS corpus ranking, Flatware (excl. Knives) ranks #256 of 838 scored CPSC product categories by PlainSafety danger score and #268 of 838 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does flatware (excl. knives) rank on danger score versus ER volume?

Among 838 scored CPSC product categories, flatware (excl. knives) ranks #256 by PlainSafety danger score (38/100) and #268 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume (5,917/yr). The two rankings come from the same NEISS extract and are not the same order.

What are the most common injuries from flatware (excl. knives)?

The most common injury is ingestion to the internal, accounting for approximately 24,057 injuries over 20 years.

Are injuries from flatware (excl. knives) increasing or decreasing?

Stable over 5 years.

Who is most at risk for flatware (excl. knives) injuries?

The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 34,799 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.

What happens when someone is injured by flatware (excl. knives)?

Of all ER visits involving flatware (excl. knives), approximately 6.5% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (93.5%) are treated and released from the emergency department.

How can I report a safety problem with flatware (excl. knives)?

You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.

Data on Flatware (excl. Knives) is compiled directly from CPSC NEISS and SaferProducts.gov records, current through 2024. See our methodology for details.

Disclaimer: This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.

PlainSafety is rendered directly from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall and incident records, no number is typed in by an editor. Product recall timelines and hazard labels are drawn from CPSC recall records for this product. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.