With Christmas promotions about to start the Commerce Commission is warning importers, manufacturers, retailers and customers to check carefully that bicycles and toys are safe.
Commission Fair Trading Manager Rachel Leamy said that if bicycles or toys do not meet their product safety standards the results can be tragic.
Loose brake pads and loose seats have been recurring problems found by Commission bicycle inspections this year.
Ms Leamy urged businesses to check bicycles thoroughly before displaying or selling them, to ensure that they meet the safety standard. Before buying, customers should ask that these checks have been made.
Customers should also check for themselves that handlebars are straight, the seat is attached firmly and the brakes work. There should be no sharp edges or projections. Wheel nuts must be securely attached and children's bicycles must have chain guards.
Kitset bicycles must have a handbook and warning that, in the interests of safety, they should be assembled by a skilled cycle mechanic.
Toy safety was highlighted this year when the Commission investigated a case where part of a toy broke off and stuck in a child's throat. Fortunately, adults were present and removed the piece of toy from the girl's throat before she choked.
The toy was a party blow out. Importers have replaced the brands of party blow outs which do not meet the standard with ones that do.
The toy safety standard applies to toys for children aged up to three years because up to that age they do not have a properly developed coughing reflex and may not cough if an object sticks in their throat. It requires that toys, and parts of toys, be bigger than a measuring cylinder about the size of a 35mm film canister.
"This is not a labelling standard," Ms Leamy said. "Simply labelling toys 'unsuitable for children under three' does not get around it. Toys that are marketed or suitable for under threes must comply with the standard. It is not the label that matters. What counts is whether the toy, or parts of it, are small enough to be a choking hazard."
The labelling issue was illustrated before Easter this year when Barney the dinosaur Easter eggs were labelled as not suitable for children under five years. Toys too small to meet the safety standard were packaged with the eggs.
The Commission had a child psychologist check the eggs and was advised that using Barney to promote the eggs made the marketing very attractive to children under three. The manufacturer recalled the eggs and, having removed the toys, resold them at a lower price.
Media contact: Fair Trading Manager Rachel Leamy
Phone work (04) 498 0908, cellphone 021 662 773, home (04) 479 6334
Communications Officer Vincent Cholewa
Phone work (04) 498 0920, home (04) 479 1432
Commission media releases can be viewed on its web site www.comcom.govt.nz
