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Sept.20 (NBD) -- Swedish homeware giant IKEA announced Wednesday that it will recall three types SMILA wall lamps, namely SMILA STJÄRNA, SMILA MÅNE and SMILA BLOMMA lamp, in China due to safety concerns.

A total of 50,197 lamps that are produced between March 1 and September 19 this year will be recalled within the following three months ending in December 18, according to Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision. 

Reports of electric shock in Children raise safety concerns

The recall plan shows IKEA received a report from China that two children got an electric shock after touching a copper wire sticking out from the switch of a SMILA STJÄRNA lamp.

Emelie Knoester, Business Area Manager IKEA Lighting & Smart Home, said "IKEA is truly sorry to hear about the incident but grateful that, to our knowledge, none of the children needed medical attention", according to a filing on Ikea's Chinese website.

IKEA also said the lamp has been tested to and complies with all applicable legislation and standards.

In the investigation that followed, a human error at production was identified. IKEA has received no similar reports, nor any reports of injuries.

The company also noted that safe products are always an IKEA priority and related lamps have been removed from sales.

IKEA promises that if any visible wires are found by customers, they can return the lamp to any IKEA store for a full refund without any proof of purchase, such as receipt. If no visible wire is sticking out from the switch the lamp is OK and can be used as before.

Different recall standards arouse anger among customers

The homeware maker first recalled its lamps in December 2013 after a 17-month-old child in crib was strangled to death in Scotland by the lamp cord in 2012.

According to data revealed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, IKEA has recalled 23 million SMILA lamps back, including approximately 3 million such products in the U.S. and 1.1 million in Canada.

However, it didn't recall related products in all countries and regions where it established presence, which arouses anger among consumers. For example, IKEA continued to sell contentious children's lamp in Denmark despite an incident taking place in Germany.

Similarly, in June 2016, IKEA started to recall 29 million Malm and other models of chests and dressers in the U.S. and Canada due to serious tip-over hazard. It's said that such products have caused over 300 tip-over accidents, claiming 8 children's lives and injuring 144 more.

However, the company didn't recall such products in countries including China and Australia in the first place, but finally gave in following pressure from regulators and consumers. In July, the company agreed to recall 1.66 million Malm dressers sold between 1999 and 2016 in China.

 

Email: tanyuhan@nbd.com.cn

Editor: Tan Yuhan