A recent article on page 19 of the July 27, 2012 issue of The Week (Vol. 12 Issue 576) brought home a scary scenario regarding the metal bristles from grill bushes.  Tiny metal bristle fragments can break off, stick on food that has been grilled, and cause severe health problems when ingested.  CBS indicated there have been over 100 cases that have lead to bristle wounds in the esophagus, stomach and intestines.  In some cases, emergency surgery has been required to remove the bristles.  Doctors are now recommending that wet paper towels be used on the grill after cleaning with a grill brush.  (http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/03/30/ri-doctors-warn-of-wire-bbq-grill-brush-danger/)

There are a number of ways in which Kingsford could approach this situation and get a jump on the competition. 

1)  Grill Brush Safety Wipes could be developed for use on the grill after it has been cleaned with a metal bristle brush.  The wipes would need to be fairly large, possibly about the size of a paper towel, very damp (at least as damp as the wipes found in the Green Works Compostable Wipes), and leave no scent or taste that could impact the food.  The best form of packaging would probably be a 3" x 6" plastic box with the wipes individually folded in half lengthwise.

Another option would be desposable, magnetically charged cloths that could be swiped gently over the grill to pick up any bristle shards.  This would assume that the brushes were made of metal rather than stainless steel, which cannot be picked up by a magnet.

2)  Develop a grill cleaning brush that does not use stainless bristles.  Although stainless steel is one of the strongest wires available, it's possible alternative bristles could be developed that would clean as well, not splinter or break down, and would be harmless if ingested.

The ideal brush would use steam, an example of which is the Grill Daddy GD12952C (http://www.amazon.com/Grill-Daddy-GD12952c-Pro-Brush/dp/B00198IUKY/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1343090860&sr=1-1&keywords=steam+cleaning+grill+brushes)