Camp Mess Kits Recalled by Southern Exchange

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Southern Exchange Co. Inc. (Texsport), of Houston, Texas, is recalling 146,000 mess kits, used for cooking over an open fire when camping. The mess kit's sauce pan handle does not lock into place and the mess kit's fry pan handle can bend during use, spilling hot foods or liquids onto consumers and causing serious burns.

CPSC and Texsport have received one report of a 10-year-old boy who received second-degree burns to his ankle when boiling water spilled from the sauce pan he was using.

The five-piece mess kit being recalled was sold under the Texsport label. The kit includes a 5-inch aluminum sauce pan and cover, a 6.5-inch aluminum plate, a 7-inch aluminum fry pan, and a 4 oz. blue plastic cup. "Made in China" is on the bottom of the cup and on the fry pan handle. The mess kit was packaged in a green box, labeled in part, "mess kit.. item 13150... one person... 5-Piece... Texsport."

Camping, mass merchandise and army surplus stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico sold the mess kit from May 1994 through September 1999 for about $3.

Consumers should stop using the mess kit immediately and return it to the store where purchased for a refund or replacement mess kit. For more information about this recall, call Texsport at (800) 231-1402 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or access www.texsport.com.