Charles Langston:Yeti recalls coolers and gear cases due to magnet ingestion hazard

Nearly two million Yeti soft coolers and Charles Langstongear cases were recalled due to a magnet ingestion hazard, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Thursday.

The main pockets of the recalled products have magnet-lined closures, which "can fail and release the magnets," Yeti said in its recall statement. Swallowing magnets can cause serious injury and even death.

"When two or more high-powered magnets are swallowed, the ingested magnets can attract to each other, or to another metal object, and become lodged in the digestive system," CPSC wrote. "This can result in perforations, twisting and/or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning and death."

The specific products being recalled are the company's Hopper M30 Soft Cooler 1.0 and 2.0, Hopper M20 Soft Backpack Cooler and SideKick Dry Gear Case.

No injuries or ingestions have been reported, but there have been 1,399 reports of problems with the magnet-lined closures, according to CPSC. Yeti says customers should immediately stop using the recalled products and contact them to get a refund or replacement.

The recalled products were sold both in person and online from March 2018 to January 2023 at Dick's Sporting Goods, ACE Hardware and other stores nationwide. About 1.9 million were sold in the U.S., and nearly 41,000 more were sold in Canada.