Are Pressure Cookers Safe?

Pressure cookers come in stovetop and electric models. These cookers use steam pressure to create high heat that allows food to cook faster. Stovetop pressure cookers have been around since the 1950s and are basically pots with lids that have special locks and rubber gaskets to create a seal.

They get hotter and work more quickly than electric pressure cookers, but they don’t have as many safety features. You have to keep a close watch on these cookers because you need to monitor the pressure.

Electric pressure cookers, such as the popular Instant Pot, are also called multicookers because they have a pressure-cooking setting, slow-cook setting, yogurt setting and more. Instead of putting an electric pressure cooker on the stove, consumers plug them into the wall.

These cookers are more advanced and come with sensors and multiple valves that are meant to keep the pressure from building up too high. They take longer to cook food and don’t reach the same temperatures as stovetop models, but you can set a timer and the machine will stop cooking and slowly depressurize on its own.

Instant Pot is one of the most well-known electric multicooker brands, but others include: Crock-Pot, Power Cooker XL, Breville, Ninja Foodi and more.

In general, pressure cookers are a safe and convenient way to cook food more quickly. But on rare occasions, the lids can explode off pressure cookers with defective components or failed safety mechanisms. When this happens, hot food and liquid can eject from the cooker and burn or injure anyone nearby.

Multicooker manufacturers have recalled their products after component defects put customers at risk of being burnt from exploding pressure cookers. Other recalls were for fire hazard and electric shock risks.

In the 1950s people reported improperly sealed stovetop pressure cookers could explode, and this led to people abandoning pressure cooking.

Now, modern pressure cookers have safety features that are supposed to prevent explosions, fires and other accidents. These may vary depending on the model and if it’s a stovetop cooker or an electric cooker.

Instant Brands claims the Instant Pot has 11 safety mechanisms, including special sensors, vents and a locking lid to prevent explosions.

Because pressure cookers aren’t like traditional cooking pots and pans, they can take some getting used to. While you can’t prevent accidents from a defective pressure cooker, you can take steps to minimize accidents.

Modern pressure cookers make it easier than ever to cook good meals quickly and easily at home. Following a few safety tips can help ensure you get the most out of your pressure cooker and stay safe.

While most pressure cookers are safe, some faulty cookers have led to serious burns and other injuries. Consumers and parents of children injured by defective pressure cookers have filed pressure cooker explosion lawsuits against the makers of popular cookers such as Instant Pot, Power Cooker XL, Crock-Pot and others.

Lawsuits claim that manufacturers made defective products and that they misled consumers about the safety of their products. Injuries in lawsuits include disfiguring second and third degree burns, emotional trauma, amputations of burnt limbs, scrapes, bleeding and brain injuries from ejected pot lids.