High Court's permanent injunction prevents distribution of unsafe baby bottle toys
Published22 Jun 2000
The Dunedin High Court today ordered a permanent injunction preventing Myriad Marketing Limited and Sweetline Distributors Limited distributing "Big Baby" and "Chewy Baby" brand toy baby bottles with removable teats. The companies consented to the injunction being made.
The toys contained sweets and were sold by a wide range of shops.
Commission Chair John Belgrave said that the Commission alleged that the toys were a choking hazard to young children and did not comply with the product safety standard for toys. This issue has yet to be finally determined by the courts.
The "Big Baby" and "Chewy Baby" bottles have a screw cap and a plastic teat that is easily removed from the cap. The teat is too small to meet the standard and is a choking hazard.
The safety standard applies to toys for children aged up to three because up to about that age children do not have a properly developed coughing reflex when they choke. If they swallow or inhale an object that sticks in their throat, they do not cough and must be helped or they can choke to death.
Toys, and parts of toys, that fit completely into a measuring cylinder are too small to meet the safety standard. The measuring cylinder is about the size of a 35mm film canister.
The Commission's inquiries suggest that "Big Baby" and "Chewy Baby" bottles with removable teats are no longer available from retailers.
Background
Sweetline Distributors Limited is a wholesaler and distributor based in Palmerston North. Myriad Marketing Limited is an importer and distributor based in Dunedin.
The Fair Trading Act gives the Minister of Consumer Affairs power to make product safety standards mandatory under the Fair Trading Act. To date, there are mandatory product safety standards for:
