Plastic Wrapping Products
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Containers & Packaging · CPSC Code 1131
Up 33% over 5 years
The verdict
Plastic Wrapping Products carry a danger score of 37/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 2,118 ER-treated injuries a year that are rising by about 33% over the last five years.
- 37/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 2,118
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 3.2%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1131 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 37/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for plastic wrapping products - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume2,118 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)3.2%
- Fatality rate0.03%
- 5-year trend+33%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Plastic Wrapping Products (CPSC product code 1131, in the Containers & Packaging category) generate an estimated 2,118 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 42,365 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 37/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are rising by about 33% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2023 (3,681 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2009 (953 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for plastic wrapping products is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 9,924 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by ingestion to the internal (8,702 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 9,388 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 3.2% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.03%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 5 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how plastic wrapping products 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)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 5,064 | 4,324 | |
| 5-14 | 2,519 | 2,434 | |
| 15-24 | 3,521 | 1,637 | |
| 25-34 | 2,565 | 3,023 | |
| 35-44 | 2,280 | 2,367 | |
| 45-54 | 2,161 | 1,721 | |
| 55-64 | 1,649 | 2,489 | |
| 65-74 | 934 | 1,549 | |
| 75+ | 864 | 1,255 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Internal | Ingestion | |
| Internal | Aspiration | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Face | Foreign Body | |
| All Parts Body | Poisoning | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Ear | Foreign Body | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Wrist | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Foreign Body | |
| Lower Trunk | Fracture | |
| Mouth | Foreign Body | |
| Foot | Other |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
57 YOF WAS RIPPING OPEN THE PLASTIC RINGS ON A PACK OF SODA BOTTES WHEN IT SUDDENLY BROKE APART & HIT HER RT LOWER ARM ON A CABINET 2 DAYS AGO. CONTINUES TO BE PAINFUL AND BRUISED. DX: WRIST SPRAIN
21MOM C/O FOREIGN BODY IN THROAT, ACCIDENTALLY SWALLOWED A PIECE OF THE WRAP OF THE LOLLIPOP. DX: SWALLOWED FORIEGN BODY
3 YOF PLACED A WRAPPER IN HER LEFT NARE. DX: FOREIGN OBJECT IN LEFT NARE
16MOM HAD A VERY SMALL PIECE OF CANDY THAT WAS WRAPPED IN PLASTIC WRAPPER THAT HE SWALLOWED AND THEN GAGGED ON DX: SWALLOWED FOREIGN BODY
5YOF REPORTS AFTER SHE SWALLOWED A PLASTIC CANDY WRAPPER. DX SWALLOWED FOREIGN BODY
55YOF, EATING CANDY THINKS PIECE OF WRAPPER STUCK IN THROAT DX:SUSPECTED FOREIGN BODY IN THROAT
2YOF P/W FOREIGN BODY IN NOSTRIL, PARENTS WITNESSED PT STICKING A GUM WRAPPER IN RT NOSTRIL, C/O NONE, DX:FOREIGN BODY IN NOSTRIL
46YOM STATES THAT HE WAS EATING A BROWNIE YESTERDAY WHEN HE ALSO ATE THE WRAPPER OF THE BROWNIE ACCIDENTALLY NOW HAS ABDOMINAL PAIN DX: FOREIGN BODY INGESTION
38YOM,FB STRUCK IN THROAT,ATE SPRING ROLL YEST AN SWALLOWED SOME ***,DX:FB THROAT
90 YOF. SWALLOWED A PIECE PLASTIC WRAPPER FROM *** BAG. DX: SWALLOWED FOREIGN BODY
38YOM, ACCIDENTALLY INGESTED 2 HOTDOGS THAT WERE COVERED WITH PLASTIC WRAP, THEN DEVELOPED NAUSEA AND VOMITING ASSOCIATED WITH ABDOMINAL PAIN DX: NAUSEA; ABDOMINAL PAIN
40YOM PRESENTS AFTER HE CUT HIS LEFT PINKY FINGER ON THE SHARP PART OF A PLASTIC WRAP DISPENSER. DX: FINGER LACERATION
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
I tried Orville Redenbacher's popcorn in a "pop up bowl" The top of this bowl is a thin sheet of red plastic. This red plastic gets very hot and burned my finger tips when I touched it trying to tear it off and open the bowl. This plastic gets much hotter than the paper bag portion that is the bowl for the popcorn.
Organic Welch's juice ice bars peels from the outside of the package causing a choking hazard to consumers. My three year old choked on the plastic that peels from the packaging. Thankfully she was able to cough it up enough for me to remove it from her tongue.
I opened a box of Glad Cling n Seal food wrap, and the cutting edge cut my fingers. The lid flops down and has razor sharp metal. Not Safe
My daughter lacerated her finger quite badly on the exposed cutter of a box of plastic wrap. Her finger was treated at a local Minute Clinic, and later at her college's student health care center, twice. Her finger does not bend properly and the wound continues to open, over a month later. Her doctor recommends that she see a hand specialist for further help. The product was purchased at Smart and Final, 6555 Foothill Blvd, Tujunga, CA 91042. The product is "Stretch-Tite Premium Plastic Food Wrap 500 Sq.Ft." (516.12 ft x 11 5/8 in). The codes on the shelf label read "[REDACTED] 12/02/2014". On most plastic wrap containers, the cutter is hidden behind a protective cardboard flap, or enclosed inside of a railing. On this product, the cutter is completely exposed and is quite dangerous to both users and children.
I cut my fingers on an open unguarded blade.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to plastic wrapping products on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are plastic wrapping products?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, plastic wrapping products have a danger score of 37/100 (low risk). An estimated 2,118 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from plastic wrapping products?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 9,924 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from plastic wrapping products increasing or decreasing?
Up 33% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for plastic wrapping products injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 9,388 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by plastic wrapping products?
Of all ER visits involving plastic wrapping products, approximately 3.2% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (96.8%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with plastic wrapping products?
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.
Related Products in Containers & Packaging
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 37/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 0-4 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
