Guidelines for selling microwave ovens

Dubai Municipality has issued a circular to all importers and retailers of microwave ovens to abide by safety guidelines in a bid to monitor and regulate the dangers posed by the devices.

Redha Hassan Salem, head of the Environment Protection and Safety Section at the Environment Department of Dubai Municipality, said the instructions have to be complied with by January 1 next year.

He said all microwave ovens sold in the market should have a safety certificate. Also, the dealer or distributor must have an after sales service that would service and check defective microwave ovens.

Emergency or maintenance telephone numbers of a service department must be readily available and marked on the oven and service personnel must be trained and equipped for leak testing of ovens.

The circular asks the importers to post the warning signs on the oven. As a minimum, the following must be marked in the oven: 1. "Do not use any foil or metal in the oven," 2. "Do not use closed containers inside the oven."

"We have given the local importers and retailers a deadline of until December 31, 2001 to comply with these instructions. Failure to comply can result in a fine and/or administrative and legal action," he said.

He added that the measures came in the wake of a survey carried out by the section last month which pointed to nearly 40 per cent of the microwave ovens sold in the market exceeding safety limits.