Consumer NZ is warning that gaps in Aotearoa’s product safety system are leaving shoppers exposed, after finding a toy banned in the UK can still be bought here through online marketplaces.<\/p>\n
A number of Squeezy Dumplings – a popular toy shaped like a soft dumpling – were recalled in the UK in June after testing found benzene in the outer layer.<\/p>\n
Benzene can irritate the skin and, where exposure is significant, cause a burning feeling throughout the digestive tract.<\/p>\n
While Consumer NZ said this recalled toy cannot be bought in stores like The Warehouse or Kmart, it can be ordered from Aliexpress.<\/p>\n
Stores such as The Warehouse and Kmart do, however, sell similar products.<\/p>\n
Head of research and advocacy Gemma Rasmussen said the availability of potentially dangerous toys through online marketplaces exposed a weakness in how product safety is managed in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
“Shoppers shouldn’t have to wonder whether a toy is safe. Yet for many products sold online, there has been no independent testing before they reach New Zealand homes.”<\/p>\n
She said New Zealand product safety laws had not been significantly updated in decades, while in-store and online marketplaces had changed dramatically.<\/p>\n
New Zealand has a product safety standard for children’s toys enforced by the Commerce Commission.<\/p>\n
However, Rasmussen said the system was far from watertight and there remained a risk that unsafe products cross into the country every day.<\/p>\n
“That system only works if manufacturers are doing the right thing and problems are identified quickly,” Rasmussen said.<\/p>\n
“Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.”<\/p>\n
Rasmussen said the safety regime currently used by New Zealand and Australian regulators was heavily reliant on risk assessments commissioned by product suppliers themselves, rather than independently verified testing.<\/p>\n
“Whether it’s asbestos in play sand or benzene in a toy, these cases demonstrate why we cannot rely solely on manufacturers’ own safety claims.”<\/p>\n
She asked the government to introduce a product safety system in Aotearoa that reflects the risks we currently face in our marketplaces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Consumer NZ is warning that gaps in Aotearoa’s product safety system are leaving shoppers exposed, after finding a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":552115,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[138,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-552114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=552114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/552115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=552114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=552114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=552114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}