Some pacifier clips are potentially unsafe: watchdog

The Consumer Council on Thursday said 40 percent of pacifier clips it recently tested failed to meet European safety standards and may pose choking or strangulation hazards. The watchdog said it looked at 15 pacifier products, with prices between HK$26 and HK$329. Five of the products come with a strap that is long enough to be wrapped around a baby’s neck, exceeding the European limit of 22cm, the council said. It also said those products’ clips or other small parts may be swallowed by young children, and do not have ventilation holes to prevent suffocation. Another pacifier broke during a strength test and the council said its fragments may pose choking risks. Gilly Wong, the council’s chief executive, said people should be careful when buying such products. “Probably the simplest advice is buy a product of which both ends are larger so it will not pass through the [mouth of a baby],” she said. “Secondly, measure the length, and check whether they have big holes in the product just in case they will cause choking risks to your kids if they got swallowed.” The council said it has asked the Customs and Excise Department to look at its findings.