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A potentially combustible power bank. Water beads that can expand inside a child’s body. Button batteries that can cause irreversible damage in as little as two hours. Some product hazards are hiding in plain sight.
On this page
- 1. The portable charger you use to top up your phone
- 2. Water beads that can expand inside a child’s body
- 3. Loose button batteries that can cause serious harm
- 4. Small, powerful magnets that could lead to surgical intervention
- 5. A toy recalled overseas that you can still order to New Zealand
- What to do if you’re worried about an unsafe product
- What Consumer NZ is fighting for
- How you can help
1. The portable charger you use to top up your phone
A rechargeable battery doesn’t have to be inside an e-bike or e-scooter to present a serious fire risk. It could be the power bank you use every day.
Earlier this month, the Godashed Lite 10,000mAh 3-in-1 Powerbank was recalled in New Zealand because its lithium-ion battery could fail and ignite while charging, potentially causing burns or property damage. Consumers were told to stop using and recharging it immediately.
Chargers, power banks, e-scooter and e-bike batteries, headphones and other rechargeable gadgets can become dangerous if they’re badly manufactured, damaged, used with incompatible chargers or used in unsafe conditions.
When you’re using or charging them, watch for:
overheating
buzzing, hissing or other unusual noises
frayed cords
damaged plugs
swollen batteries
sparks
burning or unusual smells
anything else out of the ordinary.
Don’t keep charging a battery that’s swollen, damaged or behaving strangely, and don’t put a recalled lithium-ion battery straight into your household rubbish – they require disposal through an e-waste or hazardous-waste facility.
2. Water beads that can expand inside a child’s body
Those tiny, colourful water beads sold for sensory play look pretty harmless. Dry, some are small enough to be easily spilled, picked up or swallowed.
The trouble starts when they get wet. Water beads contain superabsorbent polymers that can expand to hundreds of times their original size. If a dry bead is swallowed, it can absorb water inside the body and cause a life-threatening blockage in the digestive system. They can also be particularly difficult to diagnose, because they don’t show up on X-rays.
If you have young children at home, Product Safety NZ recommends keeping dry beads securely out of reach and making sure expanded beads aren’t mistaken for lollies.
3. Loose button batteries that can cause serious harm
When a button battery comes into contact with fluids, including saliva, a chemical reaction occurs that can cause burns and tissue damage.
Last year, we purchased 12 toys from Temu and assessed them for safety issues. Two of those toys had battery compartments that did not sufficiently secure the button batteries. Those toys are designed to appeal to very young children, and the button batteries could easily be accessed by little fingers, posing a serious safety risk.
Starship Hospital estimates around 20 children are taken to its emergency department every year because of button batteries.
In New Zealand, there are guidelines for manufacturers of button batteries, but they’re voluntary. Comparable guidelines are mandatory in Australia.
If you have young children at home, check that any button batteries are secure.
4. Small, powerful magnets that could lead to surgical intervention
Some small, high-powered magnets are banned from sale in New Zealand because, if more than one is swallowed, they can attract each other through the walls of the digestive system, potentially causing severe tissue damage.
Last year, a 13-year-old needed to have part of his bowel removed at Tauranga Hospital after he ate more than 80 small magnets. Although neodymium magnets have been banned for domestic use, such as in toys or jewellery, since 2014, the magnets can still be sold for hardware, education and as parts for other products.
If you have small, powerful magnets at home, ensure that young children can’t access them and older children know the real risks of swallowing them.
The magnets that injured the teenager were reportedly purchased on Temu. It is almost impossible to hold international retailers to account. We need tighter regulation of online marketplaces, otherwise unsafe products will keep slipping into our homes.
5. A toy recalled overseas that you can still order to New Zealand
In June, UK authorities recalled Squeezy Dumplings, a type of soft plastic toy, after testing found an excessive concentration of benzene in its outer layer. The UK Office for Product Safety and Standards classified it as presenting a serious chemical risk and told owners to stop using it and keep it away from children.
After that recall, Consumer NZ went online, successfully ordered what we believe was the recalled Squeezy Dumplings toy from AliExpress and had it delivered to our Wellington office.
That investigation exposed a hole consumers may not realise exists.
Products bought directly from overseas won’t appear on New Zealand’s product recalls website unless they’re also sold by New Zealand retailers, so if you buy from overseas shopping sites such as Temu, Shein or AliExpress, a search of the database may not tell you the whole story.
Product risks can also be harder to spot when a product arrives with unclear instructions, missing safety warnings, little age guidance or no obvious supplier details, as is sometimes the case with online marketplaces.
Unsafe products can reach New Zealand homes before anyone here has properly checked them, warned people about the risks or forced a supplier to act. Our investigations and advocacy help show where the system is failing consumers.
What to do if you’re worried about an unsafe product
Stop using it: Especially if children use it, it contains a rechargeable battery, it connects to mains power or you suspect continuing to use it could cause an injury.
Search for a recall notice: Product Safety New Zealand publicises recalls for consumer products sold through the New Zealand market. A recall notice should explain what the problem is, what consumers should do and what remedy is available. If you ordered the product directly from an overseas seller, search for international recalls too.
Contact the supplier – and report safety concerns: Tell the retailer or supplier about the problem. You can also report an unsafe product, an injury or a near miss to MBIE’s Product Safety New Zealand.
Seek a repair, replacement or refund: Under the Consumer Guarantees Act, products supplied to consumers must be of acceptable quality, and that includes being safe. If the product isn’t safe, you may be entitled to a remedy. Enforcing your rights against a company based overseas may be more difficult, though.
What Consumer NZ is fighting for
New Zealand’s product safety system still relies too heavily on problems being found after products have reached shelves, homes or children’s hands.
Consumer NZ head of research and advocacy Gemma Rasmussen helps lead our work around product safety.
“No parent should have to wonder whether something they bought for their child could cause them harm. We need a fit-for-purpose product safety system in which risks are investigated, explained clearly and acted on,” Gemma says.
The Consumer team brings together evidence, complaints and policy analysis and turns that work into practical advice and clear calls for change.
How you can help
Please donate to Consumer NZ today. Your support will help Gemma and the team fight for a product safety system that better protects New Zealanders before harm happens.
“Your donation helps Consumer NZ shine a light on product safety issues and push for change, to try and stop more families from experiencing harm,” Gemma says.
