Madrid, Spain – While North America has faced concerns over Tide pod ingestion, Spain recently confronted a new challenge concerning the potential consumption of cleaning products after the European grocery store, Lidl, was forced to recall an apricot-scented paint cleaner.
The car paint cleaner called Robbyrob came in a one-litre bottle with a red screw-top lid. The actual cleaner itself was orange coloured and apricot scented.
The instructions on the cleaner were listed in only German and English and this created concerns that Spanish shoppers would not understand that the product was meant for cleaning and not for consumption.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs stepped in following a complaint made by the FACUA-Consumers in Action Group and agreed that the lack of Spanish instructions compounded with the shape of the bottle and the qualities of the cleaner made it a potential risk.
Lidl has complied with ministry recommendations and removed the product from shelves,.
Current Spanish laws prohibit products from having shapes, odours, colours, or presentations that could be mistaken for food items–especially by children.
