Are Products Sold in Stores tested for Safety in Australia?

drspy00 on 04/08/2017 - 13:43

I couldn't find what category to put this in but on facebook someone posted a recall for some kids shoes that have some cancer causing chemical in. They are of the belief that this is the only product that slipped through the cracks and everything else would be fully tested individually for safety. I was wondering if products are tested in Australia? or do stores carry out their own testing? What about chemicals in clothing, body, food, kitchen related products?

It was my understanding that testing was carried out by brands for babies type products or independent testing companies if they wanted to pay for that.

Or are no products tested and the stores rely totally on standards set by the manufacturers? and they test them if issues are discovered or complaints by customers?

I'm really curious as I can't imagine everything that enters Australia being tested for things like harmful chemicals. Even food is sometimes recalled and if things were tested I doubt so many recalls would come up for things other than manufacturing errors.

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Comments

  • bobbified on 04/08/2017 - 14:04
    +1

    There are items that specifically have minimum set standards that must be met before being sold in Australia. They will go through sample testing based on the requirements. Examples of these items include electrical, safety equipment, vehicles, helmets etc. After passing all the tests, it'll be certified as such.

    Then there are items that don't have any particular standards other than it simply being safe and fit-for-purpose. eg, these shoes.

    So no, not everything is tested. If they were to test every single product being sold in Australia, the prices will be much, much higher than what you're paying. The cost of testing and certification is not cheap.

  • scrimshaw on 04/08/2017 - 14:13

    You can look for articles that have the OEKO TEX logo on it, which indicates tested textiles.
    https://www.google.com.au/search?q=oeko+tex+logo&

    materials like bedding, towels and linen often have it, but many clothing wont.

  • drspy00 on 04/08/2017 - 14:19

    Thanks. I didnt think so. I was just trying to put this woman right on facebook who seems to think aslong as you dont buy from a market or online, everything else is tested. I think maybe stores like Coles, Woolworths, Kmart do some testing of their own though, to protect their brand on some products. I knew it couldnt be everything because then the quality control and rate of recalls would be much less.

    • scrimshaw on 04/08/2017 - 14:20
      +3

      Big companies can afford to do testing, and they do so mostly to protect their own asses in case something goes horribly wrong and there's a follow up lawsuit.

      The suppliers who provides these goods to distributors must also check for product safety otherwise they are fined about $220K.

  • whooah1979 on 04/08/2017 - 15:44
    +1

    testing everything sold in australia is uneconomical and silly.

    sampling is the good enough.

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