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For those cold Philadelphia days, there’s nothing better than a hot cup of soup. However, a recent report revealed that certain instant soups can be dangerous and can cause a serious burn injury, especially involving children.
Last week, an investigative report by National Public Radio uncovered the burn risks presented by some of the most popular and inexpensive soups on the market. The report said that the packaging on these instant noodle soups is to blame, causing them to be extremely easy to spill.
When spilled into the laps of children, the hot noodles can cling to the skin and cause deep, serious burns, NPR reported. In fact, each one of the 12 hospitals interviewed for the segment reported noodle soup burns as a common injury, most frequently involving children.
The director of the burn unit at University of Southern California’s County Hospital in Los Angeles said that his hospital sees at least two to three patients per week with burns from instant noodle soups. For this reason, he told NPR that he avoids the products.
Oftentimes, the burns occur when small children accidentally tip the tall, lightweight cups over onto themselves, he said.
“The hot liquid then burns their chest, arms, torso, sometimes their privates, occasionally their legs,” he told NPR. Calling the soups “uniquely troublesome,” the doctor told NPR that he can’t think of a more common injury directly caused by a product’s design.
In fact, a study was recently conducted focusing solely on instant noodle soup products and their abilities to tip. The lead researcher told NPR that, as one may suspect, it was the tall cups with a narrow bottom that tipped over the easiest.
This is exactly how the packaging is designed for Cup Noodles, the most popular and inexpensive brand of instant noodle soups on the market. Apparently, the Cup Noodles packaging was designed by manufacturer Nissin forty years ago, and more than 25 billion cups have been sold worldwide.
The lead researcher said that a simple redesign of the packaging could make these soups much safer, but will Nissin listen? Sadly, it may depend on how many personal injury lawsuits are filed as a result of the burn injuries.
Source: NPR, “Why Burn Doctors Hate Instant Soup,” Mara Zepeda, Dec. 5, 2011