Hungry Jack's slapped with $150k fine after children's meal toy allegedly in breach of button battery information standards
Hungry Jack's has been forced to pay hefty fines totalling $150,240 after a Garfield toy with children's meals allegedly did not include adequate button battery warnings.
The fast food franchise was slapped with the massive penalties for allegedly breaching Australian Consumer Law by failing to comply with the mandatory button battery information standard.
Eight infringement notices issued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission warned the button battery-powered Garfield toy did not have essential warnings and information.
More than 27, 800 toys were supplied nationwide between 20 May and 30 May 2024 in Hungry Jack's children's meals.
The toys complied with safety protocol, however they allegedly failed to adhere to information standards as they did not advise consumers that they contained button batteries.
Further, they did not provide relevant warnings about the possible life-threatening hazards the batteries pose nor advice about what to do if a child ingested one.
'The ACCC has also accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Hungry Jack's in which it admitted the Garfield toy is likely to have failed to comply with the button battery information standard,' a media release from the ACCC read.
The toy was recalled mid-2024 with consumers advised to stop using it immediately and put it out of reach of children.
Anyone who received the toy is advised to return it to their nearest Hungry Jack's for a replacement one.
The ACCC warns button batteries are appealing for young children to swallow as they are small, round and shiny.
However, they can prove to be fatal, bringing a "significant risk or serious injury or death" in as little as two hours if they become stuck in a child's throat.
'Button batteries are extremely dangerous for young children and tragically, children have been seriously injured or died from swallowing or ingesting them,' said ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe.
'The ACCC continues to see non-compliant products on the market which pose unacceptable safety risks to vulnerable young children. We take non-compliance with these important standards seriously and will not hesitate to take enforcement action where appropriate.'
The ACCC said Hungry Jack's has taken steps to establish and implement a compliance program to reduce the risk of future breaches.
Businesses supplying products with button batteries are forced to comply with both safety and information standards.
Safety standards include that the products are sold in child resistant packaging and contain secure battery compartments to prevent children from accessing batteries.
About 20 children go to hospital each year with suspected battery ingestion, with three reported deaths in the last decade in Australia.
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