Health Canada Advises Canadians of Dangerous Garden Torches

Health Canada Advises Canadians of Dangerous Garden Torches

Advisory2009-119

With the outdoor living and entertainment season upon us, Canadians should exercise caution when purchasing decorative refillable garden torches such as tiki torches. Garden torches must meet the federal safety standards regarding child-resistant closures and safety labelling.

Through ongoing inspections over the past two years, Health Canada has identified numerous garden torches that do not meet Canadian safety requirements. Health Canada has taken action to remove these non-compliant torches from the marketplace, and will continue to do so.

Torches are sold with an empty metal or glass reservoir which uses either liquid paraffin, lamp oil, citronella or kerosene, as a fuel. The thin, water-like fuel sources are hazardous when ingested and therefore require child-resistant closures. For safety and flammability reasons, many of these fuels also require special labelling to appear on the reservoir of the torch.

Consumers should pay close attention to the closures and labelling of the torch reservoirs when purchasing garden torches. Canadians should also dispose of any items that do not have the proper closures and if needed, dispose of the accompanying fuels in accordance with applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws.

Garden torches should be kept out of the reach of children, as per the labelling instructions. Health Canada has not received any reports of injuries related to these torches. Nevertheless, the Department advises the public not to use any non-compliant garden torches.

Consumers are encouraged to notify Health Canada should they identify a product that they suspect is non-compliant product and contact their nearest Health Canada Product Safety office by phone at 1-866-662-0666 (toll-free) or email at cps_spc@hc-sc.gc.ca (Please note the store and province or territory where the product was found).

Additional information, including a summary of some of the safety requirements for these products, can be found in Health Canada 's Consumer Information Bulletin on Decorative Refillable Outdoor Torches.

If you would like to receive updates on consumer advisories and product recalls, you may subscribe to Health Canada 's Consumer Product Safety News listserv by sending an e-mail to:
cpsn-nspc-subscribe@list.hc-sc.gc.ca

Media Enquiries:Health Canada(613) 957-2983

Public Enquiries:(613) 957-29911-866 225-0709