'Kitemark' condoms fail new EC tests

NEARLY a quarter of condom brands on sale in the United Kingdom failed stringent new European Community tests, according to a survey published today.

Three of the nine brands that failed - out of 34 tested - would have passed the current British standard and carried the kitemark.

The survey in today's Which? Way to Health magazine tested 17,000 condoms using tests from a draft European standard due to replace the British standard later this year.

They are a test for holes, a test for elasticity, and an airburst test in which condoms are inflated. That is considered the most rigorous test of overall strength, and was the cause of failure in the nine brands.