Philips Avent Bottle Warmer Lawsuit Investigation: Baby Bottles Come Out Too Hot, Too Cold?

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are investigating whether a class action lawsuit can be filed over a potential design defect in the Philips Avent Premium Fast baby bottle warmer.

Parents are saying that the bottle warmer — despite being advertised as having a “smart temperature control sensor” that warms milk to and maintains it at the “ideal temperature” — overheats bottles to temperatures that are unsafe for infants. Other buyers have noticed that milk is still cold even after the device indicates that the bottle is ready.

Now, as part of their investigation, the attorneys need to speak with more people who experienced these issues.

Parents Complain Online About Bottle Warmer

Although studies show that breastmilk begins to lose its nutritional value when heated above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, online reviews for the Philips Avent Premium Fast baby bottle warmer are littered with reports from parents who say the appliance heated their bottles to temperatures far hotter. Many consumers have even stated that the product heats milk to the point where it could burn their infant.

Others have complained that the product’s heating abilities are inconsistent, with bottles sometimes coming out feeling hotter or colder when placed in the product at the same setting.

Below is a sampling of online complaints [sic throughout]:

I want to love this … However, it overheats the milk. The first one I had heated to 135 degrees. I called support and they sent a replacement, which overheated to 115 degrees. I’m on the third one, and it’s a good temperature when the light ring is complete but if you leave the bottle in any longer it keeps heating the milk instead of maintaining the temperature.”
— LD2020, USA.Philips.com 

I have to watch how many seconds I leave bottle in otherwise it gets too hot and I have to wait for it to get cool while my baby is crying for food. I expected to have this designed not to pass certain temperature but it continues to get warmer til it start boiling. Strange”
— MB, Amazon.com

Our experienced with the Avent has been pretty mixed … Tonight, however, we check and the milk it gave us was 117 °! This is not only damaging the nutritional value of the milk, but is borderline dangerous for [little one] to eat! We checked and found that the settlings and instructions were all correct, the warmer itself is the problem”
— ThisIsACleverAlias, Reddit.com

It’s EXTREMELY slow. We have a newborn and are only heating 2oz bottles and they take anywhere from 5-30 minutes to warm. The ‘timer’ will say it’s done when it’s still freezing cold. We often have to reheat the same bottle 3-5 times before it’s even room temperature. We resorted to just using a crock pot to heat up our bottles because this bottle warmer is so crappy and inconsistent”
— Lilpix, USA.Philips.com

This bottle warmer is really frustrating … The basic problem is that it has no thermostat. So you put the bottle in and exactly 3:42 later it’s the perfect temperature. But you don’t know that. Because the time is different for every bottle based on how full it is, thestarting temperature, the phase of the moon, etc., and -- let’s be honest -- you’re using this in the middle of the night so it wouldn’t really help if you did know. So if you accidentally leave it until -- god forbid -- 4:18, it’s like boiling and your poor baby will burn her mouth. Or maybe if you’re careful you pull it out a few seconds early, at, say, 3:30 and it’s still icy -- unhappy baby.”
— Anonymous, Amazon.com

Very inconsistent temperature regulation, I test with a digital thermometer. Sometimes it doesn’t heat up well, sometimes it’s too hot and beats over 110 degrees despite following directions to a t! Returning”
— NurseV, Amazon.com 

How Could a Lawsuit Help?

A class action lawsuit, if filed and successful, could help customers get back the money they spent on the baby bottle warmers. It could also potentially force the company to recall the product or offer a free fix.

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