Easy bake ovens were first introduced in the 1960s as a toy aimed at young girls to teach them baking and cooking skills. The small toy oven came with packets of cake, cookie, and brownie mixes that could be baked with the use of a light bulb as a heating element. Easy bake ovens quickly became one of the most popular toys for girls and continued selling well for decades. However, in 2007, concerns emerged over potential hazards with the oven, leading to Easy Bake halting sales. After making design changes to improve safety, an updated Easy Bake Oven relaunched in 2011.
Original Easy Bake Oven
The original Easy Bake Oven was introduced in 1963 by Kenner Products after employee Ronald Howes came up with the idea. It became one of the most successful toys of the 1960s and beyond, providing an easy way for girls ages 8-12 to learn baking skills.
The first model of the Easy Bake Oven was turquoise and yellow and came with packets of cake mix, cookie mix, and cooking utensils. To use it, you would slide in a cooking pan, turn on the 100-watt bulb inside to provide heat, and bake cakes, cookies, and more in 15-20 minutes. The convection heating from the light bulb cooked the small treats.
In the late 1960s, Kenner Products was bought by General Mills. Under new ownership, Easy Bake continued selling well for many years. Over the decades, the oven changed colors and designs, evolving to more modern looks in the 1990s and 2000s. While colors and styling updated, the basic functioning of the oven stayed the same.
Easy Bake Oven Safety Concerns
By 2007, however, concerns emerged over the safety of the original Easy Bake Oven. That year, reports came out of children getting their fingers caught in openings of the oven or burning themselves on the hot metal surface and light bulb inside. After receiving 249 reports of safety incidents related to the oven, including 77 reports of burns, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission investigated.
The CSPC found that many of the injuries occurred when children tried to remove still-hot pans from the oven or touched hot surfaces. The original design of the oven did not have a cooling mechanism or way to block fingers from openings. The CSPC determined that the Easy Bake Oven posed fire, burn, and entrapment hazards to children.
Easy Bake Sales Banned
Due to these safety hazards identified by the CSPC, Hasbro was forced to stop selling the classic Easy Bake Oven design at the end of 2007. While the oven had endured as a popular toy since the 1960s, the dangers posed could no longer be ignored in the 2000s.
From late 2007 until early 2011, the original Easy Bake Oven was banned from being sold. However, Hasbro made clear they hoped to redesign the oven and relaunch in the future with improved safety features.
Relaunch of Redesigned Easy Bake Oven
After sitting out for over three years, an updated, redesigned version of the Easy Bake Oven was introduced in early 2011. Hasbro worked to improve the oven’s design and address all safety hazards found previously.
The new model included:
- Redesigned heating elements that used a hidden heating coil instead of a light bulb, removing risk of touching hot surfaces.
- Added cooling system so oven areas did not remain dangerously hot.
- Improved internal openings so fingers could not get trapped inside.
- Added metal grating over the front to prevent hands from reaching in.
- Improved door hinges and lock to prevent potential pinching.
The new Easy Bake Oven debuted in a sleek silver, purple and pink color scheme. While the mechanics changed to improve safety, the oven still functioned on the core premise of using a heating element to bake premixed treats.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission tested the redesigned oven extensively and found that the many changes successfully resolved all hazards. As a result, the newly updated Easy Bake Oven could be sold again starting in February 2011.
Continued Popularity
The Easy Bake Oven has remained popular with kids and parents since the 2011 re-launch. Various styles and editions have been released, including tie-ins with popular brands like Disney Princess movies.
While the redesigned oven fixed the main safety problems, some minor burn hazards still exist. Hasbro has continued issuing some recalls over the years for issues like faulty heating elements. However, the Easy Bake Oven of today is significantly safer than the original 1960s design.
The story of the Easy Bake Oven ban serves as an important case study on the need to reevaluate product safety as technology evolves. While Easy Bake was a nostalgic toy for generations, Hasbro was right to listen to consumer protection recommendations in the 2000s and update to modern safety standards. With careful redesign, an iconic toy returned safer than ever for kids to continue enjoying the magic of easy baking.
Conclusion
The Easy Bake Oven was first introduced in 1963 and quickly became one of the most iconic and beloved toys for generations of kids. However, by 2007, the Consumer Product Safety Commission determined the original design posed burn, fire, and entrapment hazards to children. As a result, the Easy Bake Oven was pulled from shelves and banned from sale between 2007-2011. Hasbro used this time to redesign the oven with improved heating elements, cooling systems, coverings, and other features to eliminate safety issues identified. The redesigned Easy Bake Oven relaunched in 2011 after meeting all CPSC safety tests. While some minor hazards still exist, the Easy Bake Oven today is engineered to a much higher safety standard than the original thanks to redesign efforts after the 2007 ban. The story provides an important lesson on the need to reevaluate product safety as times change. With careful updates, even classic toys like Easy Bake Oven can continue providing joy and learning while also meeting modern safety expectations.