What is the sampling situation of massage equipment in 2021-2024?
In the past two years, massagers, massage pillows, fascia guns and other personal care and health care massage appliances have been sought after, but some massagers are between household appliances and medical devices, and it is urgent to strengthen supervision.
In April 2024, Consumer Reports compiled the sampling data of massage appliances released by the State Administration for Market Regulation and provincial and municipal market supervision administrations from 2021 to 2024, and analyzed the data to draw conclusions that are useful to consumers.
The results show that the regulatory authorities have sampled a total of 744 batches of massage appliances for more than three years, involving massagers, massage pillows, fascia guns, massage sticks, massage chairs, eye massagers, massage cushions, massage belts and other products. Among them, 251 batches were unqualified, involving nominal brands such as Antarctica, 361°, Royalstar, APTONIA, etc., and the main unqualified items were continuous harassment voltage, harassment power, signs and instructions, structure, etc.
251 batches were unqualified, and brands such as Antarctic, 361°, Royalstar, and APTONI were on the list
Modern people are prone to fatigue and often seek help from massage, and massage appliances that save time and money are even more popular. There are endless types of massage appliances, including massagers, electric massage chairs, massage pillows, massage shawls, etc., in addition to the relatively expensive price of electric massage chairs, the prices of other small massage appliances mostly range from tens of yuan to hundreds of yuan.
However, massage appliances almost all need to be in direct contact with human skin when they are used, and the safety of their products should not be underestimated. In the classification of the regulatory authorities, these massage appliances belong to "electronic appliances - household appliances - massage appliances - other massage appliances".
As a product with many consumer complaints, reports and quality problems, massage appliances have been the focus of supervision by regulatory authorities in recent years. The results show that in the past three years (January 2021 to March 2024), the State Administration for Market Regulation and the provincial and municipal market supervision and administration bureaus have sampled and inspected a total of 744 batches of massage appliance products, of which 251 batches are unqualified, with a pass rate of 66.3%.
Analyzed by year, the pass rate of massage equipment fluctuates, but it will improve significantly in 2023. In 2021, 143 batches were sampled, with a pass rate of 62.2%, 141 batches were sampled in 2022, with a pass rate of 54.6%, and 381 batches were sampled in 2023, with a pass rate of 72.4%, and the sampling batches and pass rate in 2023 have increased significantly compared with the previous two years.
A number of brands were found to be unqualified, including massage appliances with nominal trademarks such as Antarctica, 361°, Royalstar, and APTONI.
The details are as follows:
Among them, the massage pillow nominally produced by "Hefei Royalstar Zhijia Technology Co., Ltd." was detected as unqualified in 2 batches. According to the enterprise investigation, the legal representative of Hefei Royalstar Zhijia Technology Co., Ltd. is Guo Zizhen, with a registered capital of 5 million yuan, established in April 2012. Guo Zizhen is also the legal representative of Hefei Royalstar Electronic Appliances Group Co., Ltd. and Anhui Royalstar Smart Home Appliances Co., Ltd. According to the introduction of the official website of Royalstar Smart Life Museum, "Royalstar" is a "Chinese famous brand" and "China well-known trademark", with more than 60 years of development history, is a collection of research and development, production, sales as one of China's famous home appliance enterprise group.
In June 2023, the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation released the supervision and random inspection of massage instruments, and 1 batch of "Royalstar Royalstar (outer packaging)" U-shaped massage pillow nominally produced by "Hefei Royalstar Zhijia Technology Co., Ltd." was unqualified, and the main unqualified items were signs and instructions.
In April 2022, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued a notice on the national supervision and random inspection of the quality of 12 kinds of online products, and 1 batch of Royalstar massage pillows nominally produced by "Hefei Royalstar Zhijia Technology Co., Ltd." was unqualified, and the main unqualified items were continuous harassment voltage, harassment power, and radiation harassment.
In addition, big names such as Antarctica, 361°, and APTONI are also on the list.
In April 2022, the Fujian Provincial Administration for Market Regulation issued an announcement on the results of the provincial supervision and random inspection of industrial product quality, and one batch of "Nanjiren" massage chairs nominally produced by "Fujian Lianhe Electric Co., Ltd." was unqualified, and the unqualified items were electrical clearance, creepage distance and solid insulation.
In December 2021, the Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Market Supervision issued a notice on the special supervision and random inspection of key product quality in the circulation field, and 1 batch of "361°" massage appliances (mini fascia gun (outer packaging marking) fascia gun physiotherapy instrument (manual marking)) nominally produced by "Zhejiang Yida Electric Appliance Co., Ltd." was unqualified, and the unqualified items were signs and instructions.
Other unqualified manufacturers and brands will not be repeated.
The continuous harassment voltage index of 102 batches is unqualified, and the safety items need to be paid attention to
There are many types of massage appliances on the market, and consumer favor has also brought about an increase in the demand for massage equipment market. However, reports of safety incidents such as vulnerabilities in massage appliances are also increasing, and local regulatory authorities have stepped up sampling inspections of such products in recent years.
In the sampling, the unqualified items of massage appliances are also relatively concentrated, mainly for continuous disturbance voltage, disturbance power, signs and instructions, structure, power connection and external soft wire, protection against touching live parts, etc.
The unqualified situation of continuous disturbance voltage index is the most serious, as high as 102 batches are unqualified, accounting for about 28%. The project mainly assesses the size of the disturbance voltage generated by the massage appliance in the public power grid, and the excessive disturbance voltage will affect the normal operation of other electronic appliances in the same public power grid. The unqualified continuous disturbance voltage is mainly manifested in the fact that the disturbance voltage generated by the massage appliance through the power cord exceeds the standard requirements.
80 batches of harassment power and radiation harassment were unqualified, which was the second largest unqualified index. The unqualified disturbance power is mainly manifested in the disturbance power generated through the power supply line that exceeds the standard requirements, and the radiation disturbance emitted into space exceeds the standard requirements. Unqualified products will affect the normal operation of electronic and electrical products in their vicinity by generating excessive disturbance power and radiation disturbance in the space.
Signs and descriptions are also important unqualified items, such as a lumbar massage pillow, the product is not marked with the content of the logo, electrical parameters, and the requirements of the national mandatory standards. This indicator is unqualified, and once the consumer misoperates, it is prone to electric shock, mechanical hazards and other injury accidents.
The power connection and external soft wire items are also worthy of consumers' attention, such as the use of light PVC sheathed soft wire for a massager power cord (the standard requirements should be ordinary PVC sheathed soft wire), which does not meet the requirements of the national mandatory standard. This indicator is unqualified, prone to electric shock risk, and there are potential safety hazards.
Consumer Reports advises
(1) It is best to choose plastic material for the shell of massage equipment, which should be smooth and beautiful, feel good, and not easy to slip off. The massager shell can be divided into plastic and metal, usually the plastic shell is light in weight and has good insulation performance, while the massager with metal shell generally has a grounding wire, if there is no grounding wire, once the electricity leaks during use, an electric shock accident may occur.
(2) Purchase according to the application. Consumers who are beautiful or need to take it out frequently can choose a portable gentle pat massager, and consumers with special medical or sports needs can choose a massager with variable strength. In addition, you can also choose different types of massagers or general massagers for the back, hands and feet, and face according to your personal needs.
(3) Check whether the product has a certificate of conformity, manufacturer, production address, etc., avoid buying three no products, use them correctly in accordance with the instructions, and do not believe in exaggerated propaganda that does not conform to the advertising regulations.
[Special statement]: The original data used in this content are from the authoritative official website, and the data is objective and true. If the relevant sampling results are verified and confirmed by the relevant government departments to confirm that there is a change in the facts, please contact this journal in time.