Dedicated Efforts of CHOICE Experts in Meticulously Assessing Products for Consumers
CHOICE: A Comprehensive Approach to Product Testing
CHOICE, a well-known consumer advocacy organisation, carries out extensive product testing to aid consumer decision-making. Each year, they test hundreds of products to ensure they meet the desired functionality, usability, performance, and safety standards.
The Testing Process
The testing process at CHOICE is systematic and thorough. It begins with the development of a detailed test plan that outlines the procedures, methods, and objectives for evaluating the product.
Functional testing is then conducted to confirm that the product operates as expected, while usability testing is used to verify it meets consumer needs. Performance and durability tests are carried out to check how a product performs under normal and stress conditions, including repeated use and environmental factors.
Results are analysed to identify any safety or usability issues, and recommendations are made based on user feedback and scientific data. Quality assurance steps are taken to maintain consistent standards and replicability of results.
Safety First
Safety is a top priority at CHOICE. All products undergo rigorous safety and irritation testing to ensure they are safe for consumer use. This includes safety screening before testing, often using non-invasive bioinstrumentation methods to assess effects like skin hydration for topical products.
Unusual Testing Equipment
CHOICE's testing equipment is as diverse as the products they test. Some of the more unusual items include "synthetic space poo" for testing toilet cleaners, an artificial vagina called Syngina for testing tampons, and a condom tester that inflates condoms to test their strength.
Accreditation and Compliance
CHOICE's labs are accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) and are audited every 18 months to ensure compliance with strict standards. Most testing is conducted in-house at CHOICE HQ in Marrickville, Sydney, with approximately 70% of tests performed in accredited labs within CHOICE, and the remaining 30% outsourced to external labs.
Testing Methods
To simulate real-life use, CHOICE uses specific and sometimes unusual materials for testing. Examples include artificial household dust from Germany for vacuum testing and swatches from the Netherlands containing "Aussie dirt" for washing machine testing.
Tests cover a wide variety of products, including those like fridges, washing machines, and dishwashers, as well as unexpected items such as lawn mowers, nappies, electric bikes, trampolines, chocolate, and toilet paper.
Examples of Tests
- When testing air fryers, CHOICE uses approximately 10kg of frozen chips, 10kg of chicken nuggets, 15kg of pork belly, and 15kg of chicken wings each time.
- To test microwaves' reheating capabilities, the kitchen team makes 30 quiches from scratch.
- To see how easy high chairs are to clean, CHOICE smears them with baby food, Weetbix, spaghetti, and tomato sauce, and lets it dry.
- CHOICE expert Rebecca Ciaramidaro dirties standardized sets of crockery with different types of food to test dishwashers.
- CHOICE also tests robot vacuums and employs various methods to test products in their labs.
CHOICE's comprehensive testing approach allows them to provide expert reviews that not only evaluate product performance but also ensure consumer safety by verifying products meet rigorous safety and quality standards before being recommended.
In the detailed test plan at CHOICE, there's a section that outlines the privacy policy regarding the collection, usage, and storage of data generated during data-and-cloud-computing technology-based testing processes.
Additionally, when testing unusual items like synthetic space poo for toilet cleaners, CHOICE ensures that each product's compliance with privacy policies is evaluated alongside its functionality and performance standards.
