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Tide Recalls 8 Million Laundry Pods Over Risk of Ingestion Due to Faulty Packaging

The recall includes 8.2 million packages of liquid detergent Tide Pods, Gain Flings, Ace Pods and Ariel Pods

David Watsky Senior Editor / Home and Kitchen
David lives in Brooklyn where he's spent more than a decade covering all things edible, including meal kit services, food subscriptions, kitchen tools and cooking tips. He earned a BA in English from Northeastern, and has toiled in nearly every aspect of the food business, including as a line cook in Rhode Island where he once made a steak sandwich for Lamar Odom. Right now, he's likely somewhere stress-testing a blender or the best way to cook bacon. Anything with sesame is his all-time favorite food this week.
Expertise Kitchen tools, appliances, food science, subscriptions and meal kits.
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David Watsky
2 min read
ripped tide bag

Tide Pod storage bags are tearing below the resealable zipper rendering the safety mechanism useless and the product more susceptible to ingestion.

 David Watsky/CNET

The maker of Tide Pods has recalled more than 8 million bags of laundry detergent, citing faulty packaging that could break and contaminate other food or be obtained and potentially ingested by children. The recall issued by Procter and Gamble affects 8.2 million packages of liquid detergent including Tide Pods, Gain Flings, Ace Pods and Ariel Pods

The detergent recall is not related to the brand's notably flimsy film packaging but rather the larger plastic bags in which pods are packaged and meant to be stored for easy use. Reports of the outer plastic bags ripping near their safety zipper tracks is causing concern about the individual pods becoming easier to obtain and ingest. 

The recalled pods were manufactured between September 2023 and February 2024 and include 17 different varieties in different sizes, according to a Consumer Product Safety Commission notice released over the weekend.

tide pods broken in bag

Broken Tide Pods inside a broken bag. The company has some work to do on its packaging following a massive recall.

 David Watsky/CNET

Single-use Tide Pods and other detergent pods are housed in film bags that are meant to dissolve during a laundry cycle so you don't have to portion out detergent individually. But as anyone who has handled laundry pods knows, they are prone to tearing and breakage without having been exposed to hot water. 

The recalled products are sold online and in most pharmacies, big box and grocery stores including Walmart, Target, Kroger, Amazon and Costco. Procter and Gamble is offering full refunds on lot numbers listed on its website. 

As has been stated, ingesting Tide Pods is extremely dangerous despite a disturbing trend that stemmed from a YouTube challenge in 2018 encouraging people to eat Tide Pods or use them in cooking.