Cooktops may turn on 'without any consumer interaction,' Health Canada warns

The top of a Whirlpool radiant cooktop is seen in this image provided by Health Canada.

Health Canada is recalling a number of Whirlpool, KitchenAid and JennAir cooktops over concerns they could turn on at random – potentially creating a fire hazard in people's kitchens.

Officials said more than a dozen models of electric radiant cooktops "may potentially energize without any consumer interaction," and that more than 100 incidents have already been reported in the U.S.

In two of those incidents, people said they suffered minor burn injuries as a result. In others, the cooktop users reported items that had been left on or near the appliances were either damaged or caught fire.

There has only been one incident reported so far in Canada, where a cooktop apparently turned on and caused damage to a nearby cabinet.

Health Canada said anyone who owns one of the affected products should stop using it immediately and contact Whirlpool for a free replacement.

"Unit should be turned off at the circuit breaker, unless it is necessary to use on an interim basis," the agency said in its recall alert. "Do not leave flammable materials or empty cookware on or near the cooktop."

The affected products are 24-, 30- and 36-inch models and have touch controls and ceramic glass cooktops. They can be identified by a combination of product model number and serial number range, all of which can be found at the Health Canada website.

Roughly 2,800 of the recalled cooktops were sold in Canada between March 2017 and August 2019. About 20,200 more were sold in the United States, where the products were manufactured.

Health Canada said consumers can reach Whirlpool from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1-888-900-7897.