BBQ Grills: Serious Grill Brush Health Hazards and Solutions

BBQ Grill Brush With Steel Bristles

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Info Graphic
• SaferProducts.gov Incident Reports
• Common Injuries
• Palm Beach Grill Center Solutions
• Top Solution
• Promotional Offer!

Steel BBQ grill Brush bristles tend to easily break and if ingested can cause series health issues …

Most everyone is familiar with the classic grill brush. It’s naturally something you envision alongside BBQ grills. However, most people have no idea that grill brush bristles on average, send 150 people a year to hospital emergency rooms with severe damage to the esophagus, intestines, and or stomach; not to mention the damage it can cause the mouth itself. As the bristles age they break and get stuck on grill grates very easily. How can it be we’ve all overlooked this? It seems so logical now that we’ve pointed out to you right? You have a brush with very thin steel bristles, of course in time you’d expect the brush to shed those bristles as they become twisted, bent, and burned up. A logical progression then states those bristles will wind up in your food. Yet, these brushes continue to dominate the market as they are simply what people are most familiar with. Well, our grill center is here to educate the people, and this post will explore this topic in-depth as well as offer good solutions to what should have always been a non-issue.

“They can kill somebody … You don’t want your barbecue party to be ruined because someone is choking on a bristle.” – Celebrity Barbecue Chef Ted Reader

info-graphic showing BBQ grill brush bristle incidents for 2013 to 2020 as well as the solution

 

BBQ Grill Brush Bristle Incident Reports

 

From SaferProducts.gov

From the above info-graphic you can see we take a quote from just one case in each year from 1013 to 2020. If you would like to read further into each case here we provide a list of links linking to the specific case number in the info-graph. Its worth a look as the details of some of these surgeries people had to undergo really shows how devastating one little grill brush bristle can be.

• 2013 Incedent Report
• 2014 Incedent Report
• 2015 Incedent Report
• 2016 Incedent Report
• 2017 Incedent Report
• 2018 Incedent Report
• 2019 Incedent Report
• 2020 Incedent Report

An estimated 1,700 Americans went to emergency rooms over the course of 12 years. Those are not large numbers in reality, especially when related to just one city like ours in East and West Delray Beach, FL one of our countries perfect outdoor grilling lifestyle cities, but C.W. David Chang, M.D., a senior study author and associate professor of otolaryngology at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, says those numbers are likely flawed due to the fact that their sample groups we’re taken from ER’s only. Moreover, the study does not account for cases presenting at urgent care facilities or other outpatient settings.

The study indicates most injuries from grill brushes occur in the mouth or throat, but in some cases, people have sustained stomach and intestinal injuries after swallowing a bristle that’s hidden in food.

 

Example Grill Brush Bristle Injuries

 

image of a bbq grill brush bristle removed from a childs throat
Here we have an image of a tiny bristle that got stuck in six-year-old Anthony Fiore’s throat when he was eating a burger. Surgeons were able to remove the bristle but first had trouble finding it. Often examiners fail to find the foreign body and it usually takes numerous X-Rays and MRIs before the bristle is located for removal.

XRAY SHOWING GRILL BRUSH BRISTLE IN A THROATOur next example consists of three images. The first two are axial and coronal images from intravenous contrast-enhanced computed tomography showing a wire grill-cleaning brush bristle in the omentum, surrounded by soft tissue stranding (inflammation). The third image is a specimen radiograph from omental resection that confirms complete foreign object removal.

bbq grill brush bristle in pancreasOur nest image shows a bristle caught in the Pancreas. The man remembered having a barbecue about a week before his first visit due to pain, but there was no obvious reason for his symptoms. On each visit he was assessed, given painkillers, and eventually sent home; no-one suspected that an object could be embedded in his abdomen, let alone a wire brush bristle. It wasn’t until the man’s fourth emergency room visit that he was sent for a CT scan, which showed the metal barbecue brush bristle protruding from his duodenum — or the first part of his small intestine — into his pancreas. This is the first time a pancreatic injury from a barbecue bristle brush has been reported, but warnings about the barbecue utensil’s risks have been issued in the US and Canada due to injuries in people’s mouths and throats.

 

Brush Bristles Do Not Have To Be An Issue

 

Palm Beach Grill Center Solutions

OK, I’m sure we’re all clear now about the inherent dangers that come along with using steel bristle BBQ grill brushes. Its time for us to get to the solutions. If you still want to use traditional steel wire brushes that’s fine, just be sure to be vigilant about the brushes condition. Here are a few pointers:

• Wipe your barbecue down before cooking food

• Replace bristle brushes regularly, and especially if it’s warped, split, or clogged up with grease

• Test the brush by pulling at the bristles with moderate force. If the bristles come out, it’s time for a new brush

However, we can’t imagine why anyone would, after having read this post, want to continue using traditional brushes. If that’s how your feeling lucky for you we have some alternatives. Let’s start with a video showing our go-to brush!

 

Nexgrill Large Head Cool Surface Cleaning Brush

Our grill stores favorite pick. The grill brush has an extra-long 19 in. handle and oversized head that allows you to scrape large areas of your grilling surface using fewer motions. That equates to less exertion on your part, which you will appreciate on hot summer days. The Blue Nylon bristles whisk away char and residue on your grill grates and are the perfect cleaning tool on your cooled grilling surface.

We’re giving these away!

That’s right, you read that correctly. For a limited time, we’re giving away a limited number of these grill brushes; as well as, a 10% off coupon for your next Palm Beach Grill Center purchase. This promotion will run until July 1st. Here are the instructions on how to get your free grill brush and coupon:

1. Like and share this post

2. Like/follow the Palm Beach Grill Center Facebook page: CLICK HERE

3. Let us know that you did by sending us a message with your name, email, and phone number, along with the promo code (GRILL BRUSH)

4. Visit our shop to pick your grill brush up!

That’s it! Easy right?

Authored By: Palm Beach Grill Center,
3351 N Federal Hwy Building B,
Delray Beach, FL 33483,
(561) 271-0454