The Commerce Commission referred the company to Auckland District Court, where it pleaded guilty and was fined $87,750.
photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
NZME Advisory has been fined just under $88,000 for supplying dangerous magnetic puzzle toys which were swallowed by a child and had to be surgically removed.
The toys, known as buckyballs, consisted of small, powerful magnetic balls and were sold through GrabOne’s website, formerly owned by the company, from October 2020 to September 2021.
The company, which has since sold the site, sold 213 magnetic toys that breached the dangerous goods notice, which bans the supply of any magnets sold in sets of two or more that are of a certain size and strength.
NZME recalled the kits and contacted customers to inform them of the recall after being contacted by the Commerce Commission.
Fair Trading Commission general manager Kirsten Mannix said the magnets were banned for health and safety reasons.
“The ban is there because if you swallow multiple magnets, they can attract each other inside the body, which is extremely dangerous,” she said.
“Unfortunately, we are aware of one case in New Zealand where a child swallowed two magnets from one of the magnetic toys supplied by NZME and required major surgery to remove them.”
The commission referred the company to Auckland District Court, where it pleaded guilty and was fined $87,750.
Mannix said it is vital that businesses understand their obligations when advertising and supplying products for sale.
“Every year we make unannounced visits to retailers to learn about current product safety laws and check that the toys on the shelves are compliant,” she said.
“Since 2017, we have prosecuted 30 business entities and issued official warnings to another 32 business entities for supplying non-compliant products.”