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VERIFY: Could a slow cooker kill you? Crock Pot says 'no'

If you're a fan of NBC "This Is Us" and you haven't watched the latest episode that finally reveals how one of its biggest characters die... then stop reading now because this article contains spoilers!

If you're a fan of NBC "This Is Us" and you haven't watched the latest episode that finally reveals how one of its biggest characters die... then stop reading now because this article contains spoilers!

Fans have been waiting to find out how Jack dies for two years. Now that knowledge of his death is out there, it's sparking concern over a kitchen appliance, even causing a major company to release a statement assuring that their product is safe.

During the latest episode of the award-winning series, Jack died because of a faulty slow cooker. Since then, fans have been taking to social media vowing and showing them throwing out their slow cookers.

The backlash against the appliance has been so swift that the popular brand Crock Pot has responded saying "our slow cookers won't kill you."

Crock Pot is a brand of slow cookers. In the episode of "This is Us," the slow cooker that caused Jack's death was carefully cropped out. However, Crock Pot has done so well with making their brand synonymous with slow cookers that they're taking the brunt of the heat.

Furthermore, the writer of the show wanted to remind folks that the show was a work of fiction.

Still, with the commotion over Crock Pot, we set out to verify: Is your slow cooker a safety hazard?

We reached out to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission who said between 2014 to 2016, 7,600 people had to be taken to the ER due to injuries from a slow cooker. Since 2010, there have been four deaths. The most recent one happened in 2015 when an elderly woman was killed in a fire that may have been started by a slow cooker, according to government records.

We then looked up complaints and recalls. Saferproducts.gov showed two recalls of slow cookers in 2004 and 2005. The slow cookers in both instances were made by the brand Rival. The hazard in both cases were defective handles.

We also checked complaints about slow cookers. There are more than 100 dating back to 2011. Many of the complaints, however, involved slow cookers melting or the lids exploding.

So to answer the question of whether or not a slow cooker could kill you, it's possible. But, according to government stats, it's unlikely.

The next episode of "This is Us" airs right after the Super Bowl on February 2.

If there's something you'd like to us to verify, send an email to verify@firstcoastnews.com or fill out the form below:

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