Every time Kevin unscrews a new bottle of Kraft salad dressing, the sharp plastic hinge cuts him. This is good to know if you’re in a supermarket and need to show another shopper that you’re not to be messed with. It’s also good to know if you’re trying to unscrew a Kraft dressing bottle, we guess.
Kevin writes:
I seem to have a problem opening Kraft salad dressing bottles with the flip top cap. The last few bottles I have purchased ripped my finger open when I tried to open them, it happened again today in the work kitchen and I had several co-workers mention that they have been cut in the exact same way by these packages.
The problem seems to be in the flip cap. The hinge on the cap is razor sharp, which is not a problem when flipping open the cap. The problem is when you have to screw off the cap to remove the tamper resistant seal on the bottle. To do this you have to twist the bottle cap running your fingers over the razor sharp hinge resulting in a cut almost every time.
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why do you have to run your finger over the hinge? shouldn’t the hinge be attached to the top part that spins?
@Elcheecho: The bottle shows “Easy open peel” where it’s supposed to twist open as well. I always take a butter knife and run it over that line and break the paper first, before I attempt to twist. The bottle design isn’t the best, I’ll agree to that, but the OP should of learned a better way to open it by now
@verucalise: Yup “Easy open peel” I did the exact same thing the first time I opened one of these. The old ones you used to just twist to open. When I tried that with these new ones, I cut myself in the palm of the hand. After that I looked at it again and read the “Easy Open Peel” label. I pretty much just kicked myself for that one. Just read the labels people.
@verucalise: I always take a butter knife and run it over that line and break the paper first,
You’re supposed to use the razor sharp hinge from the previous bottle for that, not a butter knife.
@Elcheecho:
I blame the OP in this case. After first cut,I would have simply grabbed a towel to open. This is a issue that can be prevented with a little common sense.
@FrugalFreak: How are corporations supposed to think for us and tell us what we want if we use common sense?
/sarcasm
@FrugalFreak: I dunno, a bottle of dressing shouldn’t reall cut you when you open it, though.
Get a better grip so your hand doesn’t have to slide past the flip top lid.
@Gokuhouse: Open it with one of those rubber bottle-opener circles like I do. I’m weak. I didn’t know my muscular weakness was saving me from being cut.
@Gokuhouse: Also, you see the little bit of writing there on the label? The bit that says “Easy Open Peel?” Yeah, try peeling that off so that you don’t have to try to tear the paper solely by twisting the cap off. That way, you won’t have to worry about your fingers slipping across the hinge and getting cut.
I smell a lawsuit !
A creamy, buttermilk ranch lawsuit !
@madame_underpants: But it’s Thousand Island dressing that’s out for blood.
Think less buttermilk and more ketchup and tabasco plus the variety of nibbly bits that all salad dressings have.
@Ghede:
I’m tasting its savory goodness even now. I have this same exact bottle, but thankfully escaped harm.
Could always use one of those rubber jar top opening mats. I have a couple and they really help with gaining some extra grip on stubborn lids. I presume this would cover the hinge as well.
@jcostantino: Oven mitts work too. Heck, a washcloth will do the trick.
@jcostantino:
Seriously.. common sense for the win? if it hurts, quit doing it that way!
I got punched in the face by a French’s mustard bottle and kicked in the nuts by a jar of Vlassic pickles!
@FuryOfFirestorm: Man, I just hate it when condiments shank me.
@FuryOfFirestorm: WINNAR!
@FuryOfFirestorm:
It’s out of control where I live. I was coming out of bar the other night and these two packets of mayonnaise go up to this big jar of relish and just cracked him right open. There was a mess all over the sidewalk.
@LordofthePing:
Sounds like tartar sauce; get some fish and chips, stat!
@LordofthePing: Oh, the things on the Internet that other things on the Internet remind you of:
[www.weebls-stuff.com]
@FuryOfFirestorm:
Oh man, I LOVE this comment so much! LMAO
@FuryOfFirestorm: Last night here in Buffalo, I was mugged by a bottle of Frank’s Red Hot… times are tough.
@FuryOfFirestorm: First “The Secret” comes with a shiv, now condiments. What’s next?
just run a knife ofr a fingernail around the base of the cap to break the paper seal – you don’t HAVE to twist the cap.
think outsicde the box here, people.
@mattwiggins: Well, you DO have to twist the cap, to take it off, to remove the seal under it. But using the knife method, you wouldn’t have to twist off the cap with such force as to rip the paper.
I think I’m going to start my email to consumerist about cheese graters and how, as a child, I always scraped my knuckles and fingertips. Man, that smarted.
@mattwiggins: i’m surprised people just force it. i always cut the paper before opening:P flip top or regular, always cut. never saw the point of doing it the hardway, i’m pretty sure its got cut here lines on the paper anyways.
Here is a FREE helpful hint for you: Use a dish towel or rag when opening the item.
No need to thank me, but one would think you had learned your lesson after the first time…
@emptydarkone: Thanks so much for your snarky hindsight advise. I’m sure this will solve the problem for everyone else who opens this type of bottle for the first time as well.
That must be some awesome ass dressing to be repeatedly opening new bottles with the knowledge you are going to get cut. Try putting a small towel or even your shirt over the cap next time.
@faust1200: Well, some people are just trying to hit the lawsuit jackpot.
@faust1200:
Seriously. Maim me once, shame on you; maim me twice, shame on me.
I just opened one of these bottles today. No slippage, no cuts. I cut the paper holding the screw cap in place, peeled it off, then the cap unscrewed without any problem.
Seems like I was one of the lucky few to get away from these bottles unscathed.
Hmmm the exact same thing just happened to me a couple days ago. I just make sure to cut the perforated portion first and then grab the top with a dish cloth while turning. My roommates enjoyed watching me do this.
After the second time, I think I’d try a different way of opening the bottle.
It’s still a legitimate complaint though since it shouldn’t happen at all.
I just went to open a new bottle of Kraft dressing to see if this was true.
I cut myself.
@Zeke129: You should really see a psychiatrist about that cutting yourself thing.
@LastAndLeast: From a picture of Johnny Depp as Sweeny Todd: “Dear Diary, if I cut other people, am I still emo?”
Must…not…blame…OP….
@rpm773: Sorry, Can’t help but blame OP, (somewhat) If you did it once shame on the container. If you did it twice shame on you. Its the equviliant of me sticking my fingers in soda cans because then i can carry 10 to the recycling bin instead of 3.
For those of you who haven’t tried it, don’t, you’ll have one less fingertip, or 10 less.
Amusing yes, lawsuit no.
Do we need padding on everything like a 6 year old?
@rpm773:
Be strong!
as long as the package is the same size…
I’m glad I’m not the only one! I’ve been doing it constantly since this bottle design came out!
Diced garlic from another manufacturer too!
Has happened to me also. The CoffeeMate creamer containers do it sometimes as well.
This is why I use my shirt to twist open bottles. You can give yourself blisters or cuts trying to open these things. As someone with small hands and lousy grip strength, I’ve had to devise a number of methods to open tightly sealed containers. Using a knife as a wedge often works, as does hot water, gloves, and banging it on the floor. The worst was the time I had to open a gallon container of Gatorade by wedging the edge of a nail file into the tiny space between the cap and the plastic ring and snapping each seal individually.
Dude use some common sense jeez… what the OP is doing is like trying to go down on an up escalator and then wondering why he is still on the second floor…
I hardly blame the OP ever but this dude is kinda of asking for it…
@RodAox:
Sir, commenters have been disemvoweled for less!
@RodAox:
i have a solution to your problem Kevin… stop opening the Kraft bottles, they seem to be bad for your health. what i advise is that you find a real man to do it for you…
@Trey Mahaffey: yeah real man dont cut themselves on kraft bottles…peeh! they do it on motor oil bottles…everyone knows this!
I have a bottle in my fridge and didn’t get cut. Am I doing it wrong?
@Kyusaku: Masochists must buy Kraft in droves.
[www.amazon.com]
You need a jar opener. Flat rubber thing. Follow the link to see.
Kevin is a retard, I use Kraft dressing all the time and have never been cut.
I actually have a scar on my left hand from one of these bottles. It doesn’t matter where you place your hand, the fact is that the plastic of the hinge protrudes and is far too sharp.
I had to go to the doctor, because it took a serious chunk out of my palm. My doctor said that he’s actually had multiple patients in for the same reason, all with Kraft salad dressing, all within the last two years.
Those of you who are claiming that you’ve never been hurt by this, whoopdedoo. Not everybody who doesn’t wear a seatbelt dies in a accident, either. Just because it didn’t happen to you doesn’t mean that it’s not a consumer hazard.
@Roxanne: What the hell do you mean it doesn’t matter where you place your hand? I suspect you should be able to find some location to place it on the bottle that doesn’t rip a chunk out of your hand. Just because you and Kevin do not know where to place your hands so you can open salad dressing safely does not make this a consumer hazard.
@biswalt: You’re aware of a way to remove a lid without putting your hand on the lid?
If it were just the paper seal, sure, cut it. These bottles feature a foil and plastic seal under the lids.
The notion of “blame-the-consumer” is thriving in this thread. It’s a reasonable expectation that even a child of eight should be able to open a plastic bottle of salad dressing, which is generally without sharp edges or really edges of any kind, without injury.
Try this:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon finely minced white onion
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 dash of black pepper
Be very careful mincing the onion. Knives can be sharp.
@undefined: A bottle of steak sauce killed my brother in Reno just to watch him die.
@LostTurntable: Worcestershire sauce is so mean it once shot a man just for snoring.
@FuryOfFirestorm: When condiments go bad! Tonight at 11.
Has MacGruber taught us nothing?
Rubber bands. Always use rubber bands.
1) Wrap one securely around the cap and offending protrusion
2) Twist until done twisting
3) Access bottle’s creamy center
4) Dress salad
I recommend the big fat rubber bands commonly used for produce and/or postal needs. Usually free, too – Huzzah!
Kraft needs to redesign that container and manufacturers need to take note that many of their products are hard to open and even more so for senior citizens. Kraft changed some of the ingredients in their mayo and salad dressings last year. They made a good product taste awful, and I’ll never buy a product of theirs again. Does anyone else feel the same? Or is it just me?
How about not putting your finger there?
@Dracoster: If I’ve learned anything from Avenue Q, it’s that any time anyone says you can’t put your finger somewhere, it’ll shortly be followed by PUT YOUR FINGER THERE!
Quit blaming guy! I’m sure he KNOWS by now to expect an injury and is using a shirt/towel/rubber glove/whatever to cushion his hand before opening the shitty-flavored dressing that should he should be making from scratch anyway.
The point is that Kraft shouldn’t produce packaging that so easily injures people — however slightly. It’s a design flaw. I don’t smell a lawsuit; I smell a redesign.
@ZoeSchizzel: Not only does he not know, like emptydarkone said, but he has repeatedly submitted himself to opening more bottles to repeat his mistake. You get cut once, you should probably think to cover the bottle in case for next time – but nope, this guy is like the hamster with the electric shock button.
I think the point is, why should anyone have to use/buy a special tool (or a towel) to open a simple salad dressing bottle? Most people do not associate salad dressing bottles with being a sharp object.
I hope that Kraft looks at this article as an opportunity to redesign the bottle to be a little safer for the consumer.
@Ilovegnomes: It is so difficult for someone to just grab a towel from the counter? Or use a shirt sleeve? It’s not rocket science. If you get cut once, learn from the experience and suspect it may happen next time. If you don’t, no biggie, it slips the mind. But to repeat it a third or a fourth time? Ridiculous.
@pecan 3.14159265: But it shouldn’t happen the first time. Yeah, it’s silly to keep doing it, but it starts with the company.
Ok, Kevin works at AIG? Citi? BoA? Can’t tell. But for the luv of gawd, you need to peel the paper where it says “Easy Open Peel”!!
So some guy not figuring out the proper way to open salad dressing is news now? This is almost as bad as the “Help, my coffee mug gets hot when I microwave it” post we had a little while ago: [consumerist.com] .
Man is the only animal that trips over the same stone twice. Use a cloth or, as mentioned earlier, run a knife around the seal to cut the paper, making it easier to unscrew & avoiding ragged paper edges.
To the OP: You’re doing it wrong.
Just take a knife, edge of the counter, pen, fingernail, etc. across the bottom edge of the cap to break the seal halfway THEN open it.
I’ve never cut myself on these. You have to cut the paper on the dotted line first. I don’t think I’ve ever come into contact with the hinge at all.
Now that I’ve said that, watch me cut myself the next time I open one.
Is this a real problem? Never happened to me, and I have opened up enough salad dressing bottles that you would think it would have happened once to me. My guess is that Kevin works with a diminished mental capacity as do all the people he works with that have this problem.
@biswalt: @biswalt:
So, you work for Kraft, right?
There’s not really a need to insult someone’s intelligence over this.
@Roxanne: this is precisely the article to insult someones intelligence… or lack thereof.
I just cut the paper with a knife/etc. Less trouble, more efficient.
We make salads at work and use these same bottles of dressing, I have opened dozens of them and never noticed anything sharp when opening them.
I think that many may be trying to just twist the top off without pulling the tab which will tear off the label making the top very easy to turn so not needing force which may lead to the cuts. That looks like the case here, the bottle even instructs you to peel off the label and provides a tab to pull!
Don’t follow instructions, get cut, read instructions, save yourself pain!
@baquwards: I think you’re right.. once you remove that ultra wrapping around the top, twisting is .. dare I say, a breeze.
I’ve injured myself farting, I’ve never encountered such a tragedy by trying to dress a salad. I say they’re doing it wrong.
Death by a thousand islands?
@undefined: If you read the story, obviously he does NOT KNOW:
“The last few bottles I have purchased ripped my finger open when I tried to open them, it happened again today”.
As you can see, this has happened SEVERAL times. He just doesn’t get it.
I will admit that those plastic hinges are sharp. I’ve personally never drew blood, however my skin has been scratched enough by these hinges. However, that easy open peel is anything but – those pull tabs are hard to get to or just non-existent. I eventually prevented scratches and hard to find paper tabs by getting a butter knife around the easy open peel to perforate it and shimmying the paper off – that way, I just deal with the pop-open hinge to get to the salad dressing.
Dude, how hard is it to make your own salad dressing?
See this just proves that you should make your own salad dressing.
This guy would not fare well in prison. Much less outdoors.
Blaming the consumer has really hit a new low.
- OP’s fault for not using hand protection while opening every bottle of salad dressing he ever opens.
- OP’s fault for not (maybe) not breaking the wrapper which may or may not change the amount of force needed to open the cap which may or may not be a factor in the scrapes… but definitely conclusive enough to blame the OP.
- As this has never happened to me personally, logic dictates it MUST be the OP’s fault.
- OP’s fault for having it happen more than one time. Somehow the repetition makes even the first time the OP’s fault, through a time paradox vortex and tachyon pulses.
- Consumerist’s fault for posting the story.
and last but far from least, my own personal favorite:
- Op’s fault for buying salad dressing instead of making his own at home like Martha Stewart.
Slow clap, commenters… slow clap.
@runswithscissors:
Feel better now?
If you follow the instructions on the bottle for opening, you can avoid in most cases getting cut.
I have opened dozens of these bottles at work without injury, because I follow the directions. Removing the paper seal makes it much easier to turn, almost no effort needed.
@runswithscissors:
No kidding! What the hell happened to the Consumerist today? At least, what happened to the readership?
I would think this is pretty cut and dry. The bottle has an unnecessarily sharp edge that can readily cut skin AND anecdotal accounts suggest that this is actually happening to people. How is this not a packaging failure?
It should not be this difficult to open a bottle. There is no need to child proof salad dressing, and I shouldn’t require tools to remove a stupid piece of paper around a screw cap.
Similar thing was happening to me a few years ago with Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice bottle caps. I would have light lacerations on my palm after opening the bottle. The new ridged cap they have now has apparently stopped this. More product packaging testing folks…save yourself a class action lawsuit.
kevin has soft and moist hands… Kevin needs to work in the yard more to build some thicker skin. Kevin gets nose bleeds…. kevin….needs a fwend.
If you read the instructions on the label that is taped around the cap, it says to peel off the top part before you twist it off to remove the paper. I just bought one of these yesterday and managed to do it without injury.
Kraft should incorporate this into some kind of “Extreme” marketing campaign. Have a mean cartoon tomato holding a knife with the caption “finally a salad dressing that fights back”
Shoot commercials with construction workers with blood gushing from their fingers mocking a guy in a turtleneck and boxframe glasses opening a generic salad dressing bottle without injury/