Safety alert as French fitness blogger is killed by exploding whipped cream canister
FRENCH police are investigating after a fitness blogger died when a whipped cream dispenser exploded.
Rebecca Burger, 33, was reportedly hit in the chest and suffered a cardiac arrest at her home in Galfingue, eastern France, after the accident on Saturday. Her death is the latest in a series of household accidents involving the pressurised canisters which work by injecting gas into a metal canister under high pressure and are more powerful than the spray-can variety more common in the UK.
Claude Chevalier, a pensioner from Yvelines, near Paris, suffered six broken ribs and a smashed sternum when one exploded in 2013 as he made a cake.
The Ard’time device believed to have been involved in Ms Burger’s death was withdrawn from the market because of safety concerns that year. But despite a product recall notice, tens of thousands are believed to remain in use in France.
Authorities are looking at whether a fault in the dispenser caused Ms Burger’s death, prosecutors in the eastern city of Mulhouse said.
The French consumer magazine, 60 Million Consommateurs, reported that “various brands of devices have caused about 60 accidents, sometimes with very serious consequences: loss of an eye, broken teeth, tinnitus, multiple fractures in the face or chest.” Ms Burger is believed to be the first person killed.
A statement on Instagram posted by her boyfriend showed a picture of an Ard’time model. “This is an example of the cream dispenser that exploded and punctured Rebecca’s chest, causing her death,” it said. “Don’t use this type of product at home!”
A well-known fitness and travel commentator, Ms Burger had about 154,000 followers on Instagram.
A spokesman for Ard’time said he was extremely sorry about her death. “We can’t let it be said that we have done nothing since February 2013, when the first incident involving an Ard’time dispenser occurred,” he added. “We did everything we could to notify everyone [of the risk].”