The Reckitt Benckiser (RB) Group — a British-based multinational consumer goods company responsible for brands and products including favs Airborne, Calgon, Clearasil, Lysol, Durex and many more –recently announced that it is recalling batches of its Durex Real Feel and Durex Latex Free condoms in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The recall is due to concern that the products may burst during application or use.

“Our tests have shown that some batches which are currently on the market in U.K. and Ireland do not pass the requirements for burst pressure towards the end of the shelf life for the product,” the company said in a statement on its website.

The condoms in question have expiration dates between December 2020 and February 2021. Consumers are being advised not to use the relevant products and to return them to the place of purchase for a refund.

Products impacted include:

Durex Real Feel 6 Pack, Batch Number 1000438054, Expiration Date: Jan. 2021

Durex Real Feel 12 Pack, Batch Number 1000444370, Expiration Date: Feb. 2021

Durex Real Feel 12 Pack, Batch Number 1000474804, Expiration Date: Feb. 2021

Durex Latex Free 12 Pack, Batch Number 1000444367, Expiration Date: Feb. 2021

Durex Latex Free 12 Pack, Batch Number 1000433145, Expiration Date: Jan. 2021

Durex Real Feel 12 Pack, Batch Number 1000419930, Expiration Date: Jan. 2021

Durex Real Feel 12 Pack, Batch Number 1000444367, Expiration Date: Feb. 2021

Durex Real Feel 12 Pack, Batch Number 1000416206, Expiration Date: Dec. 2020

Durex Real Feel 18 Pack, Batch Number 1000434066, Expiration Date: Jan. 2021

Durex Real Feel 18 Pack, Batch Number 1000430479, Expiration Date: Jan. 2021

Even in perfect conditions and when being used exactly as intended, science has never once suggested that condoms are a 100-percent-effective way to prevent the transmission of some STIs and/or pregnancy. User error and product discrepancies — from incorrect storage (between 3.3 percent and 19.1 percent of participants in a recent study had stored condoms in conditions outside of the recommendations on the package) to general breakage (between 0.8 percent and 40.7 percent of participants in a recent study reported the experience of a broken condom) — only increase the likelihood of failure.

The fight is not exactly hot and heavy at the moment, but people versed in the “mandatory condoms in porn” debate will see how recalls like this one from Durex can be exceptionally problematic, especially within the context of the specific impacted markets.

Image via red2000.