Dusk, The Reject Shop breach button battery laws

(Source: Bigstock)

Australian retailers The Reject Shop and Dusk have paid nearly $240,000 in penalties for selling Halloween novelty products containing potentially lethal button batteries.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued infringement notices to the retailers for breaching button battery laws introduced last year.

The mandatory standards require product packaging to be child-resistant, carry warning labels and emergency contact information and have secure battery compartments to prevent children from accessing them.

Before supplying products to consumers, businesses are also required to carry out testing to ensure compliance with the safety standard.

Dusk admitted that four of the products supplied failed to comply with mandatory button battery safety requirements and paid $106,560 in penalties along with eight infringement notices.

The Reject Shop paid $133,200 for supplying a product that “allegedly failed to comply” with the mandatory safety standard and received one infringement notice.

ACCC deputy chair, Catriona Lowe, said it is “essential” that businesses comply with the mandatory battery laws by meeting the new safety standards, to prevent further injuries or deaths.

“These world-first mandatory standards are designed to protect young children, prevent serious injuries and help consumers understand the risks associated with these batteries,

“This is a reminder for consumers to check items in their home, including products which were purchased before the standard came into force in June last year, for unsafe button batteries.”

Button batteries can also be found in many everyday household items such as watches, children’s toys, car key fobs, remote controls and digital scales.

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