10 Years Later: Schumer Put Dangers of Grill Brushes in Spotlight

It's been a decade since Senator Charles Schumer called for a federal review of safety risks posed by metal bristle grill brushes.

Schumer held a news conference on Memorial Day 2012 to urge caution when using the brushes. He cited reports of serious injuries to people who ate grilled food that had small pieces of metal that had come off brushes.

The Democratic senator from New York urged the Consumer Product Safety Commission along with the Food and Drug Administration to "take immediate action" to warn people of the risk of ingesting metal grill brush bristles.

In a statement, Schumer said “metal bristles are one topping no one wants on their burger this holiday season."

Schumer said he was concerned that many serious injuries caused by metal bristle grill brushes were not being reported.

The senator's call for action followed news reports of a New Jersey man's "brush with death" after he apparently unwittingly consumed a metal bristle that wound up in some grilled food. The man underwent emergency surgery.

Chuck Bell of Consumer Reports joined Schumer in calling for a federal safety review of the hazards posed by grill brushes.

It doesn't appear the federal agencies have done much to investigate the issue over the past ten years.

After this article was published, Schumer's press office pointed out that the FDA said it had added safety information about metal brushes to its website. It also noted the Consumer Product Safety Commission now encourages people to use nylon grill brushes or balls of aluminum foil for grill cleaning.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.

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