Samsung among 'winners' at 2016 Shonky Awards

Exploding smartphone batteries, camel milk that claims to help people with autism and $20 cans of clean Australian air have been named and shamed at this year's Shonky Awards.

An exploded Samsung Galaxy Note 7

An exploded Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Source: Ariel Gonzalez/YouTube

Consumer advocate group, Choice, has "honoured" nine products and services at the 11th annual Shonky Awards.

For the second year running, electronics giant Samsung was singled out for selling a product that posed a fire risk.

Last year it was a top-loading washing machine that was eventually recalled.

This year, where faulty components caused batteries to explode.

"This is really disappointing," Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey said.
"Last year Samsung got a Shonky for its washing machines. There were more than 300 incidents of fires across the country.

"Just months ago they put 51,060 dodgy Galaxy Note7s on the market. We think Samsung needs to take a long hard look at what's going wrong at the heart of its business."

Nestle's Milo was also called out for its 4.5 star health rating.

Choice said this rating only applied when the product was consumed with skim milk; on its own, the rating was 1.5 stars.

Kellogg's was slammed for making customers think they were saving money by dropping the price of its Pringles potato chips, when in fact they had decreased the size of their tubes, along with the length and weight of the chips.

The saturated fat content, however, went up by 60 per cent.

Camel Milk Victoria has been referred to the ACCC after claiming its product fought off bacteria and infections, while providing "aid" to customers living with autism, diabetes, tuberculosis, and cancer.

The Shonkys ceremony also included multiple skits poking fun at Green and Clean, a company that claims to bottle air from the Blue Mountains, Bondi, New Zealand and Tasmania. A dozen cans cost $246.26.

Choice CEO Alan Kirkland said: "The Shonkys are the awards that we'd prefer not to give out, but yet again we've caught out some of the world's biggest brands with misleading advertising, dangerous products and sneaky tricks to rip off customers."

Check out the full list .

-With AAP

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2 min read
Published 5 October 2016 2:09pm
Updated 5 October 2016 7:43pm
Source: SBS News


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