News

Press Release

Release Date: 07/11/05

Ban on Kettle Sales

The importation of various brands of electric kettles being sold on the island is now prohibited under the Bureau of Standards Act #14, 1990. The brands in question all appear to be manufactured in China and have labels such as - Yaxing Long, Dianne Re Hu, Hy.

The ban was effected following testing and evaluation on these brands by the Electrical Department of the Ministry of Communication, Works, Transport and Public Utilities. The tests results found the products to be non-compliant with the primary international safety requirements for electrical appliances and therefore extremely unsafe.

Details on the product and the test results follow:

Product(s): Electric Kettles

Brands: Yaxing Long, Dianne Re Hu, Hy and other similar kettles.

Retail Price: Between EC$5.00 and $25.00

Manufactured in: China

Defect Details: 

- Product bears no name plate making it impossible for a   consumer to determine the correct voltage at which it should be operated
- Product contains no visible signs of temperature controls or regulators
- There is no over current protection to protect kettle and consumers
- Very feeble in construction
- The product has no English label thereby consumers are unable to make informed decisions on how to operate the kettle etc.
- Weaknesses noted in the kettles' element

SLBS Action: -

- All such items are now prohibited entry into St. Lucia
- Retailers have been advised to remove all current stock of these brands of kettles from the market.

The action being taken by the Bureau highlights the importance of the Standards Compliance programme, which provides the Bureau with a mechanism to ensure that products sold on the market conform to acceptable health, safety, performance and labelling standards. These measures notwithstanding, consumers are reminded of the need to be extremely vigilant when making purchases of any product and to report any concerns to the Consumer Affairs Department

Importers, retailers and speculators of these products are asked to contact the Bureau of Standards for further information.