Samsonite “Tokyo Chic” Suitcase Recall Due to Cancer Concerns

Samsonite is recalling about 250,000 “Tokyo Chic” suitcases sold under the American Tourister, label due to concerns that the handles contain high amounts of a possible carcinogen. 

The American Tourister suitcase recall was announced on Tuesday, and is expected to cost the company about $500,000.

The action came after a Hong Kong consumer group found handles saturated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are considered possible carcinogens.

The Hong Kong Consumer Council issued a warning on June 15, indicating that the levels of PAHs on the side handles of an unidentified suitcase it tested were as high as 17,960 milligrams per kilogram in one sample, exceeding a German voluntary guideline by a factor of 1,800. Other samples found PAHs ranging from 14.5 mg/kg to 61.7 mg/kg, while a little less than half of the samples detected none at all. The council warned the manufacturer, later discovered to be Samsonite, to replace the handles.

Samsonite said it would replace the handles for anyone who wanted them replaced and would also replace them on the remaining 30,000 it has in stock.

The voluntary German limit, set by GS Mark, is 10mg/kg of PAHs for consumer products with skin contact lasting longer than 30 seconds. Samsonite said it had independent labs conduct testing on the handles and they found levels of about 17 kg/mg, still exceeding the GS Mark standard. However, the company said it did not think the level was dangerous.

There are a number of different types of PAHs, some of which are carcinogens, some of which are mutagens and some of which are harmless. The very first chemical ever determined to be a carcinogen was a PAH and they have been linked to childhood asthma, depression and lower IQs.