Published
NSW Fair Trading Deputy Commissioner Steve Griffin is urging consumers to check their hot water bottles following the voluntary national recall of the Plush Knitted Water Bottle, sold without mandatory warning labels.
Mr Griffin said NSW Fair Trading had detected the labelling problem during checks in NSW that are part of a National Product Safety Surveillance Program.
“The affected water bottles have been sold Australia-wide at Amcal and Guardian Chemists as well as some independent giftware stores since February this year,” he said.
NSW Fair Trading has been advised that Get Fresh Cosmetics has supplied 2,890 products nationally – 1931 units have been supplied to Sigma Pharmaceuticals and 959 units have been supplied to independent gift stores. No separate sales figures for individual states and territories have been released.
The hot water bottle models are: 9324679019219.S-HWB010 Plush Hot Water Bottle Pink and 9324679014948.S-HWB008 Plush Hot Water Bottle Grey.
Mr Griffin said NSW Fair Trading visited the Amcal Chemist in Westfield Burwood this month and found the hot water bottle for sale without the mandatory warning label.
“NSW Fair Trading immediately notified Sigma Pharmaceuticals Limited, who supplied the hot water bottles to the chemists, and all stock was withdrawn from sale,” he said.
Get Fresh Cosmetics, who supplied the hot water bottles to Sigma Pharmaceuticals and independent gift stores, is publishing a recall notice in The Australian newspaper on Friday 1 July.
Get Fresh Cosmetics will also arrange for copies of the recall notice to be placed in each of the chemists and stores that were supplied with the bottles.
Affected consumers are advised to cease using the hot water bottles and to return them to the place of purchase for a refund.
For further information, call Neil Abrahams at Get Fresh Cosmetics Pty Ltd on (03) 9555 2553.
The Trade Practices (Consumer Product Safety Standard) (Hot Water Bottles) Regulations 2008 requires all hot water bottles to comply with certain design, construction, performance and labelling requirements.
Labelling must be permanently and prominently displayed on hot water bottles, warning of the dangers of severe burns, if used incorrectly. Hot water bottles must carry prescribed warnings on the bottle itself and the packaging or an accompanying warning message.
Mr Griffin said the majority of users of hot water bottles were women and children.
“Hot water bottles provide an inexpensive means of heating, but families need to be extra vigilant when it comes to using and maintaining them,” he said.
Injuries can arise from: overfilling the bottle, contact burns, the walls of the bottle not being thick enough, the seams not being strong enough and, natural deterioration of the bottle from age, overuse, and incorrect storage or from the bottle being filled with boiling water.
Essential safety tips for hot water bottles: replacing your hot water bottle each winter is a good idea, check the condition of the bottle before filling it, never use boiling water directly from a kettle to fill a hot water bottle, do not use a hot water bottle without a wrap or a cover and never place weight or pressure on a hot water bottle as it may burst.
Contact details
For further information and tips visit the NSW Fair Trading website.
For more information about Australian recalls, visit www.recalls.gov.au.