Bitter-tasting detergent capsules to ensure child safety

Laundry capsules will be coated with a “bittering agent” from New Year’s Day.

Under the new rules, the detergent tablets have to be bitter enough to ensure children spit them out in less than six seconds.

Authorities across the EU have moved to reduce the number of childhood poisonings connected to the brightly coloured and pleasingly-scented products.

Packaging is also to be made stronger and harder for small hands to open, while larger warnings alerting consumers of their dangers are to become mandatory. Colourful laundry capsules have become increasingly popular in Ireland over the last decade as consumers have found them easier to use than old-school powders, but the sweet smells and bright colours have proved attractive to young children who mistake them for toys or sweets.

Poisoning cases

The golf ball-size capsules are covered in a water-soluble film and can burst when bitten into, shooting their contents down children’s throats. A report earlier this year by Temple Street children’s hospital found liquid detergent capsules were responsible for 9.2 per cent of poisoning cases treated in 2010 and 2011, leading the hospital to describe them as an “emerging threat”.

The capsules can affect the eyes, gastrointestinal tract and respiratory system, the study published in the Irish Medical Journal warned.

Last October, a 17-month-old girl from Co Meath ended up in intensive care in the hospital after she bit into a capsule and swallowed half the liquid.

From tomorrow all products on the market will have to comply with the new rules.