Experts at CHOICE push beyond standard procedures to thoroughly evaluate products for their consumers
In the heart of Marrickville, Sydney, the CHOICE headquarters buzzes with activity as the team embarks on a mission to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions. At CHOICE, the testing process is thorough, meticulous, and often unconventional.
The team spends dozens of hours watching water boil to test rangehoods, ensuring they can handle the heat and remove steam effectively. When it comes to appliances like dishwashers, they use plates and cutlery dirty with a variety of foods—oats, egg yolk, spinach, baby cereal, margarine, tomato juice, and tea—to see how well they clean up.
CHOICE's kitchen team has cooked over 8000 scones during their time with the organisation, more than 300 scones alone when testing ovens. They've also cooked 20 pizzas, 10 chickens, 60 meringues, and 10 loaves of bread to test baking capabilities.
To test non-stick frypans, a machine scrubs them 10,000 times with Scotch-Brite to assess their durability. When it comes to air fryers, CHOICE uses approximately 10kg of frozen chips, 10kg of chicken nuggets, 15kg of pork belly, and 15kg of chicken wings.
CHOICE's lab is equipped with some unusual testing equipment, such as 'Synthetic space poo', Syngina, and a condom tester. They also use specific and sometimes unusual materials for testing, like artificial household dust from Germany for vacuum testing and "Aussie dirt" swatches from the Netherlands for washing machine testing.
The lab is accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) and is audited every 18 months. Approximately 70% of the tests are carried out in accredited labs, while the remaining 30% are outsourced. CHOICE tests hundreds of products annually, including common items like fridges, washing machines, and dishwashers, as well as unexpected ones such as lawn mowers, nappies, electric bikes, trampolines, chocolate, and toilet paper.
CHOICE's methodology is designed to ensure accurate and unbiased reviews. They acquire multiple sample products from retail stores to avoid bias, carry out all testing in their own laboratories, and use scientifically designed test protocols that reflect actual user scenarios. When specialized expertise or equipment is required, they contract independent accredited external testing laboratories to maintain impartiality.
Strict internal controls are in place to minimize conflicts of interest, including purchasing products anonymously on the open market and not accepting payment or influence from manufacturers. Consistent re-testing over time and cross-checking results ensure reliability and detect changes in product quality.
Whether it's clothes dryers, coffee machines, or robot vacuums, CHOICE tests a variety of products. Their rigorous, multi-step testing process ensures robust, trustworthy reviews for consumers, helping them make the best choices for their homes and lives.
The CHOICE team, while examining smart-home devices and gadgets, ensures consumer privacy policies are adhered to during testing to maintain data integrity. In the lab, they assess the cleaning performance of various dishwashers using a variety of food substances, such as oats, egg yolk, and tea, to provide informed purchasing decisions.
