Posts

Button batteries border check

Button battery safety regulations : Are they working?

More than 100 products have been recalled in Australia for breaches of the mandatory safety standards on button batteries!  Next week marks two years since the standards were mandated. Yet there have still been more than 40 products…
Rattle toy safety

Don’t get rattled with your baby products – Selling safe rattles

Babies are very vulnerable, so any product intended for them must be designed for safety. We all know that, like all toys for kids from birth to 3 years, rattles must not be able to break or have any loose parts that can cause choking.…
Gail's 2007 Year of the Recall

Gail’s 2007 – Year of the Recall

5 minute read In many ways 2007 was a gamechanger. It was my job to help keep children safe, but toys became so hazardous we nearly had to cancel Christmas. It was also the year I began writing my first novel. World attention Me…
Thermomix Court case

Disregard for consumer safety and the law

Record fines for breaching the product safety laws have been ordered in the Federal Court. Findings showed Thermomix's clear disregard for consumer safety and the law. Well done to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for taking…
Electric kettle safety

Is your electric kettle safe? A lesson for all product suppliers

We all want to feel assured our kettles will hold themselves together when we're making a nice cup of tea. A handle coming away from a kettle full of scalding hot water is an obvious hazard - scald injuries can be very serious. There…
Product recall costs

Product recall costs revealed

Patties' frozen berry case in the courts This case provides a good insight into the costs associated with product recalls. In 2015, Australian leading frozen food supplier, Patties was forced to recall Nanna’s and Creative…
Illegal to sell recalled products

Is a recaller breaching the law if they continue to supply their product?

Last week I wrote about the current Australian Consumer Law (ACL) not prohibiting products being sold once they are subject to a recall. I did this with other suppliers in mind – retailers, distributors, etc It was only when discussing…
Product safety recall

Should it be illegal to sell products that are listed recalls?

It is not currently illegal in Australia to knowingly sell unsafe goods. I wrote about this last year in my blog article An Australian General Safety Provision and argued justification for adding a general safety provision to the Australian…
Scales of justice

Product safety game changer?

Woolworths product safety case Last week Woolworths was fined more than $3 million for supplying goods with misleading representations as to their safety and failing to withdraw unsafe products from sale. This is only the second time in Australia’s…
Button battery hazard

Button batteries: the most challenging product safety problem ever?

Attractive to children, easy to swallow Deadly within days, if not hours Found in a staggering array of products Difficult to completely isolate from children Hard to detect if swallowed Symptoms similar to other ailments Severe…