Mum Suffers Second-Degree Burns After Thermomix Blows Open

Preparing meals in a Thermomix has become an everyday activity in many kitchens all over Australia. So when Perth mother-of-two suffered second-degree burns after her Thermomix blows open unexpectedly, it naturally rings alarmbells to Thermomix owners everywere.

Danika Jones was in the middle of cooking a pasta sauce last month when her TM31 machine started making a funny noise and vibrating. Soon after, as she approached it, the lid flew open and splattered boiling hot liquid all over her chest, arms and stomach.

“I had popped the pasta sauce ingredients in the Thermomix using the same recipe I’ve used every week since I bought the machine more than two years ago,” she said.

“I walked over to turn it off and as I did that, it just exploded – the lid blew off and hot liquid went everywhere, all over me. The pain was intense.”

The Halls Head mother was then rushed to the hospital burns unit via ambulance for extensive treatment.

Quite surprisingly, medical staff advised her that she was not the first patient to present with burn injuries from a Thermomix incident. 

“When I went to get my burns redressed, the nurse specifically said to me ‘you’re not the first person to come in here with burns from the seal coming off’,” she said.

“So many people use a Thermomix and they need to know how unpredictable they can be and how dangerous they can become when they malfunction.”

“Imagine if my kids had been on the kitchen bench [when the appliance malfunctioned].”

Ms Jones had recently had the sealing ring replaced by Thermomix after a national recall on the seals of the Thermomix TM31 model.

The seal was recalled late 2014 over claims that, in rare circumstances, liquid or food may splash out of the mixing bowl when the machine switches from high speed to the ‘lid open’ position.  The seal’s supplier claimed replacing the seal would eliminate the potential risk.

Ms Jones is now urging Thermomix to introduce a full recall of the TM31 model, and warns other Thermomix users to be aware of its potential danger.

Now afraid to ook food out of her oven for fear of being burnt, it’s easy to understand why Ms Jones no longer uses her Thermomix.

In a statement on Thursday, Thermomix advised they were aware of the incident and were continuing to try and work with Ms Jones to investigate the matter.

“Unfortunately, Ms Jones has declined our requests to investigate the appliance,” it read.

“Without a thorough investigation of the appliance, the manufacturer is unable to determine the cause of this incident. Unfortunately, on occasion the appliance can be used incorrectly.”