Correct me if I am wrong but when smokeless powder deteriorates it loses its potency. what makes this powder spontaneously ignite? What makes this powder dangerous?

This sounds like they are covering something up... (not usually prone to conspiracy theories)

This has been a problem of various degrees ever since we left the era of sulfur, charcoal and saltpeter being the components to make gunpowder. Today's powders have various chemical blends that may deteriorate at differing rates creating unstable conditions under certain circumstances. In some cases the deterioration can create heat which, if severe enough, we all know isn't healthy around powder.

PaulS wrote:

Correct me if I am wrong but when smokeless powder deteriorates it loses its potency. what makes this powder spontaneously ignite? What makes this powder dangerous? This sounds like they are covering something up... (not usually prone to conspiracy theories)

when you "weld" your bullet to the case due to corrosion (cristals can form very strong connections), powder can do "funny" things when ignited in a closed chamber

Yes, but they are not talking about stored ammo the company is talking about it being dangerous to use at all. It doesn't make sense to me.

After all, it nitrocellulose - a single based powder. The only way it can cause heat is if you expose it to strong acids.

You're right. When this powder is still stored in its original packaging, then somebody has made a big mistake (QC) or somebody at the top was willing to make big profits out of waste material. Both give a bad taste.

From Wikipedia
Nitrocellulose deteriorates with time, yielding acidic byproducts. Those byproducts catalyze the further deterioration, increasing its rate. The released heat, in case of bulk storage of the powder, or too large blocks of solid propellant, can cause self-ignition of the material. Single-base nitrocellulose propellants are hygroscopic and most susceptible to degradation; double-base and triple-base propellants tend to deteriorate more slowly. To neutralize the decomposition products, which could otherwise cause corrosion of metals of the cartridges and gun barrels, calcium carbonate is added to some formulations.

To prevent buildup of the deterioration products, stabilizers are added. Diphenylamine is one of the most common stabilizers used. Nitrated analogs of diphenylamine formed in the process of stabilizing decomposing powder are sometimes used as stabilizers themselves.[20][21] The stabilizers are added in the amount of 0.5–2% of the total amount of the formulation; higher amounts tend to degrade its ballistic properties. The amount of the stabilizer is depleted with time. Propellants in storage should be periodically tested for the amount of stabilizer remaining, as its depletion may lead to auto-ignition of the propellant.

Good info Mac.
The recall sounds like a very big stuff up in production of those batches.
At least they have a handle on issue.
The question is will they get all of those batches back, recalls are rarely 100% effective.