Half of the electric blankets sold by online retailers in Taiwan failed inspections and could present a safety risk, the Executive Yuan’s Consumer Protection Committee said yesterday.
The increased popularity of electric blankets due to recent cold weather prompted the inspection, the committee said, adding that people should be cautious when buying such products from Chinese manufacturers.
One of the 10 products tested had not been put through safety certification testing, and the distributor was asked to correct the issue, committee director-general Liu Chin-fang (劉清芳) said.
Photo: Lo Chi, Taipei Times
“Electric blankets come into contact with the body, so they absolutely must pass safety testing before they can be sold,” she said.
Of the five blankets that failed inspection, two failed for quality problems, committee official Kao Tzu-chung (高賜忠) said.
The problems included electromagnetic interference that affected nearby electronics, as well as issues with the power connector, he said.
The blanket that had problems with its electrical plug was made in China for a double bed, and was sold on Momo for NT$828 (US$29.31), committee official Wang Te-ming (王德明) said.
The one that caused electromagnetic interference was a Taiwan-made product selling on Momo for NT$1,567, he said.
Other problematic products were found on PChome and Yahoo Shopping, he said.
Online platforms would be required to process claims for problematic products even if the seven-day grace period had passed, he said, citing stipulations in Article 359 of the Civil Code.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection said that distributors of products that do not have safety certification could be fined between NT$250,000 and NT$2.5 million and must have the products certified within a set time limit.
Missing the certification deadline could result in an additional fine of NT$100,000 to NT$1 million, it added.
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