Lately we have seen a wave of people complaining about their pyrex dishes shattering, even though it’s been happening for some time, it’s definitely a trending topic, so let’s talk about it! Why are pyrex dishes shattering?
As most of us know, pyrex dishes are supposed to go from hot to cold and cold to hot without shattering, so why are so many getting shattered lately? Now when you buy Pyrex you’re either buying PYREX with capital letters or pyrex with lowercase letters. Lowercase letters pyrex kitchenware is sold in the United States, South America and Asia. PYREX with capital letters is sold in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. So let’s get some background on the subject.
CorningWare was first introduced in 1958 by Corning Glass Works—the same company that manufactured our beloved Pyrex—featuring unique glass-ceramic (Pyroceram) cookware resistant to thermal shock.
PYREX used to be all the same, the ones with capital letters but a while back Corning who owns Pyrex sold lowercase licensing out and when that happened it was no longer made with the good quality glass PYREX was made, they started using tempered glass which can shatter. This means that if the logo is written in capital letters the glass is much safer and resistant than the lowercase letter ones.
Pyrex has been sued over allegations that the company’s popular glass cookware products are defective and prone to shattering. The class-action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of four plaintiffs and other U.S. consumers who bought or own Pyrex glassware made from soda lime silicate glass. The lawsuit accused Pyrex manufacturer Corelle Brands LLC of switching the type of glass used to make its products. According to the complaint, Pyrex glassware was originally made of borosilicate glass, which is more heat tolerant. Pyrex switched to tempered glass most likely because boron is toxic and expensive to dispose of.
However, Corelle allegedly later started using less-expensive soda lime silicate glass. The plaintiffs claimed Corelle knew or should have known that temperature changes may cause glassware manufactured with soda lime silicate to break. The company failed to warn consumers about the defective products or issue a recall despite being aware that they could injure consumers by breaking or exploding.
The lawsuit stated that reasonable consumers expect Pyrex glassware to withstand temperature changes based on the product’s history and the manufacturers’ claims about its durability. Since 2005, Pyrex has been sued a number of times by consumers who were severely injured when their Pyrex dishes shattered.
Pyrex products were made of borosilicate glass until the 1950s. Today, every piece of bakeware made in the U.S. uses tempered soda lime, including the full line of Pyrex consumer glassware. If you happen to have one of the ol’ good ones, protect that treasure because they’re not easy to find. It’s definitely an advantage in the kitchen not having to worry about your dishes shattering and I think most of us prefer safe and good quality dishes than having to replace them every other time because they are shattered. We can only hope they come up with a better option that’s sustainable and as safe as it used to be!