The Customs and Excise Department today (March 30) urged members of the public, especially parents, to stop babies from sucking a type of unsafe babies' pacifier.
During a recent spot check on children's products, Customs officers found a type of babies' pacifier to be unsafe after testing by the Government Laboratory. The safety test results revealed that the samples contained excessive N-nitrosomorpholine content of 81μg/kg (ppb), about 8.1 times of the permissible limit of 10μg/kg (ppb) under the safety standards. The tested samples also failed to meet the requirement for a warning label, namely, "Warning - Do Not Tie Pacifier Around Child's Neck as it Presents a Strangulation Danger".
According to the advice of Department of Health, N-nitrosomorpholine is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as possibly carcinogenic to humans.
A Customs spokesman said, "A total of 43 babies' pacifiers have so far been seized from a supplier and its four retail outlets. The department has also served a prohibition notice under the Toys and Children's Products Safety Ordinance on the supplier, prohibiting the supply of the unsafe babies' pacifiers. The supplier will also conduct voluntary recall action on the products. Investigation is continuing."
Customs conducts spot checks on the safety of toys and children's products to ensure their compliance with the safety requirements of the prescribed standards under the Toys and Children's Products Safety Ordinance in order to protect consumers' interests.
Under the Toys and Children's Products Safety Ordinance, it is an offence to import, manufacture or supply unsafe children's products in Hong Kong. The maximum penalty for the offence is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for one year on first conviction, and a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for two years on subsequent conviction.
To report unsafe toys and children's products, the public can call the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or write to the Consumer Protection Bureau, Customs and Excise Department, 11/F, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point.
Ends/Tuesday, March 30, 2010
