crocee, I think you're right. Alone, I think there's a good chance the bowl itself would be fine for years. It's the spills, and the crud in the microwave already that would make a bad situation worse. I wonder too if the one that lit long after it was out of the microwave was already smoldering when it left the microwave, but it wasn't noticed. I often wondered what the rice would look like inside the bag. I wonder if a tiny bit of moisture left over after cooking something, like a potato, did that?
CQ, how many times had you used the bag before that? Was it washed recently? Damp? Do you know what the wattage of your microwave is? I'm curious about what makes this happen.
Our upstairs one is 1200W and it's misbehaving lately. The downstairs one (in my studio) is 900w, and working fine. I suspect that I'd be most likely to use the bowls in the upstairs one (once it's replaced), but the downstairs one sounds safer....
I don't think it's liability issues, they tell people on their site that the Warm and Plush is its replacement. They claim a better manufacturing process...