If you ever feared the products you buy might be risky for your health, then Samsonite’s Tokyo Chic suitcase recall is going to give you a nightmare. The company announced it has decided to recall suitcases worldwide over cancer concerns.
Samsonite is one of the biggest suitcases and travel bags producers. The latest blunder is surely going to significantly cost the company, particularly since no consumer wants to be at risk of cancer. A test made by a Hong Kong consumer group showed that the company’s Tokyo Chic suitcases were carrying compounds related to cancer development. Thus Samsonite announced it is recalling some 250,000 suitcases sold worldwide over the past three years.
The Hong Kong Consumer Council tested several of the company’s products. Four samples have tested positive with high levels of a compound widely recognized as a cancer factor. The substance known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs was traced in the handles of Samsonite’s tested samples.
The consumer group reports their tests showed the carcinogens were found in high levels, at 17,960 milligrams per kilogram, spiking well over the average limits. The council believes the PAHs contaminated the Samsonite handles during manufacturing, as the substance is usually traced in rubber, plastics and even lubricating oil.
Studies showed that PAHs have been linked to the birth defects and the development of cancer in animals. PAHs is a term that pertains to over 200 chemicals which are found in air as a result of burning coal, oil and even tobacco, as well as water and food. So far, researchers were able to prove that exposure to PAHs causes breast cancer in animals, but human research has delivered inconclusive results.
The company decided to recall some 250,000 suitcases worldwide although its own tests didn’t find any traces of the said dangerous compound. Ramesh Tainwala, Samsonite’s president for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, explained: “Despite our absolute conviction that the Tokyo Chic luggage is completely safe, we have today removed Tokyo Chic luggage from our stock everywhere”.
Ramesh Tainwala added that the concern might be a bit exaggerated, given that “a human being has to eat 100 handles and …have the probability of one in a billion chance of getting cancer”.
