If your Labour Day cleanup included putting the barbecue tools away for another season, take one more look before the set goes back into storage. Health Canada posted a September 1 recall for Cuisinart metal wire bristle grill brushes sold in Canada as part of two Crate & Barrel Canada grill tool sets. The issue is simple but serious: small metal bristles can detach from the brush, stick to the grill or food, and create an ingestion hazard. Health Canada says that could lead to serious internal injuries requiring surgery. As of August 26, the company had received no reports of incidents or injuries in Canada, but the advice is to stop using the recalled brush immediately and contact Crate & Barrel Canada for a refund.
The recall applies to the brush included in the Cuisinart 20-Piece Grill Set, UPC 817096012967 and SKU 520486, and the Cuisinart 10-Piece Grill Tools set, UPC 890084002799 and SKU 611997. Health Canada says the 20-piece set includes a recalled brush with a stainless steel handle, while the 10-piece set includes a recalled brush with a wood handle. In both cases, the word “Cuisinart” is stamped on the brush handle. The recall notice says 679 units of the affected products were sold in Canada, with sales running from December 2017 to March 2026. That long sales window matters for shoppers because the set may not look like a recent purchase, and it may have been moved between a garage, shed, balcony bin, cottage, camper or shared family barbecue kit.
For Canadian shoppers, the practical first step is to identify the set, not just the loose brush. Many households separate tools after purchase, so the original box may be gone and the receipt may be long lost. Check any Cuisinart-branded grill brush with wire bristles, then look for the handle style and product clues from the notice. If the brush came from a larger Crate & Barrel Canada set, treat it as suspect until you can compare it to the recall details. If you still have the packaging, match the UPC and SKU exactly. If you do not, use the photos and description in the federal notice and contact Crate & Barrel Canada before using it again. Do not give the brush away, sell it online, put it in a garage sale pile or leave it beside a shared grill for someone else to use.
This recall is also a useful reminder to rethink wire-bristle tools generally. A grill brush can look fine after a quick glance, but thin metal wires can bend, break or hide on cooking grates. Before the next barbecue, scrape and wipe the grill surface, inspect it under good light, and consider lower-risk cleaning options such as a coil-free scraper, a wooden paddle scraper, a grill stone or a bristle-free brush made for the grate type. If you replace the tool, check whether the new cleaner is compatible with porcelain-coated, cast iron or stainless steel grates, because the wrong cleaner can damage the cooking surface and shorten the life of the grill. For a household budget, the cheapest tool is not always the best buy if it creates a safety concern or ruins an appliance you already own.
The money piece is straightforward: do not keep using a recalled product just because it came in a set or because only one tool is affected. Health Canada’s recall notice directs consumers to contact Crate & Barrel Canada for a refund, and lists the company’s phone line as 800-451-8217. If you are replacing the brush, keep the refund separate from a same-day impulse purchase and compare options first. End-of-season barbecue accessories are often discounted, but clearance pricing should not override safety checks. Look for a clear return policy, avoid anonymous marketplace listings with incomplete product information, and keep a photo of the receipt or order page in case a later recall names the item. For older seasonal goods, digital receipts are often easier to find than paper ones when a recall appears years after purchase.
A quick household recall routine can prevent missed alerts. Once a month, search the Government of Canada recalls database for brand names on higher-risk items around the home: appliances, heaters, children’s products, power banks, chargers, food items and seasonal tools. The recalls page listed this Cuisinart grill brush notice among the past seven days of alerts and also points consumers to email notifications, RSS feeds and incident reporting. If a product fails, overheats, breaks in a dangerous way or causes an injury, report it through Health Canada’s consumer product incident process rather than only leaving a store review. Reports help regulators and companies spot patterns that may not be obvious from one household’s experience.
Bottom line for Canadian shoppers: if you own a Cuisinart grill tool set from Crate & Barrel Canada, check it before the next meal, not next summer. Match the set name, UPC or SKU where possible; stop using the wire-bristle brush if it matches; contact the retailer for the refund route; and choose a replacement that fits your grill and your safety comfort level. For anyone buying barbecue gear on clearance this month, this is a good reason to pause at the shelf, check the model details, and avoid products where the brand, UPC, seller and warranty information are unclear. A few minutes of checking can save a wasted purchase and, in this case, reduce a real injury risk.
Source trail: - Health Canada / Government of Canada — “Cuisinart Metal Wire Bristle Grill Brushes recalled due to injury hazard” — https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/cuisinart-metal-wire-bristle-grill-brushes-recalled-due-injury-hazard - Government of Canada — “Find recalls, advisories and safety alerts” — https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en - Health Canada — “Consumer products and cosmetics” — https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/consumer-product-safety.html - Canadian Food Inspection Agency — “What to do when a food recall happens” — https://inspection.canada.ca/en/food-safety-consumers/know-about-food-recalls