Abstract:
According to CCTV News, products such as "air disinfection cards" that have been selling well on e-commerce platforms have recently been filed by the China Consumers Association in a consumer civil public interest litigation.
The court's final judgment found that the relevant products contained false propaganda, and the company involved was ordered to pay punitive damages of more than 2 million yuan, three times the price of the goods purchased by consumers.
The report stated that the reporter searched for the words "air sterilization and disinfection card" on multiple e-commerce platforms, and a variety of hanging card products appeared on the page, with the equivalent of a few cents to dozens of yuan per piece, and some were clearly marked as overseas imported products.
The details page shows that one tablet can be used for about 60 days after being opened. It is suitable for children, pregnant women, and the elderly. A link to a hot-selling product shows that sales have exceeded 500,000 pieces.
Merchant customer service said that
the product principle is to use solid particles or powder to react with air to release chlorine dioxide gas, reduce the number of harmful microorganisms in the surrounding air, and form an "isolation protective layer" within a certain space of the wearer.
Some merchants also specifically reminded that chlorine dioxide is "an internationally recognized safe and non-toxic green disinfectant." A third-party test report issued by a certain sterilization card product shows that when samples and virus slices are placed in a cubic meter experimental chamber for 24 hours, the killing rate of influenza A viruses exceeds 99.99%.
"Hang around the neck and it can kill all bacteria and viruses within 3 meters." This kind of propaganda attracted many people to buy it and even more people believed it. However, the court concluded that it was false propaganda.
The China Consumers Association targeted three companies: Shunfeng Gene Technology (Weifang) Co., Ltd., Zhongcheng Northern Biomedicine (Shenyang) Co., Ltd., and Qingdao Zhongke Ruiye Gene Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
A public interest lawsuit was filed for the fraudulent behavior of promoting the "Northern Morning Air Disinfection Card" through rhetoric such as "the sterilization rate is as high as 99.99%, and the virus sterilization rate is as high as 99.99%."The Shandong Provincial Higher People's Court made a final judgment in August this year, revoking the first-instance judgment and ruling that Shunfeng Gene Company should pay more than 2 million yuan in punitive damages three times the price of the goods purchased by consumers, as well as testing fees, notary fees, etc. Zhongcheng Company and Zhongke Ruiye Company each bear joint liability for compensation within the scope of more than 1.06 million yuan.
Is the working principle of this type of air disinfection card reliable? Experts pointed out the logical paradox in interviews. Disinfection requires effectiveness and safety: it must effectively kill pathogens without causing harm to the human body.
Chlorine dioxide is a highly oxidizing and highly effective disinfectant. It will definitely cause damage to the human body when it reaches a certain concentration. However, at a concentration that humans can tolerate, it cannot achieve the claimed disinfection effect.
In actual scenarios, the chlorine dioxide disinfectant sprayed by medical and community personnel requires ventilation and dispersion after disinfection, and no people are allowed to be present. The Healthy Home Appliances Testing Center of the China Household Electrical Appliances Research Institute conducted a sterilization effect test on air disinfection cards. The results showed that the chlorine dioxide gas generating agent contained in each disinfection card ranged from 3 grams to 15 grams, which cannot reach the effective concentration of sterilization and disinfection in most daily life environments.
Experts also pointed out that people are not always in a closed space, and the surrounding air is flowing, so it is impossible to ensure that the disinfection card will continue to maintain a concentration that effectively kills pathogens around the body.
Children’s respiratory tracts are more fragile and are more susceptible to irritation from high-concentration disinfectants. Experts recommend that the public purchase disinfection products that have undergone health and safety evaluation and filing. They can check the registered products on the national disinfection product health and safety evaluation and filing website.
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