At least 28 brands of hand sanitisers do not meet standards according to lists released by Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) and National Drug Authority (NDA).
The UNBS list indicates that 15 companies failed to meet the required standards while that of NDA mentions 13.
The bodies have cautioned the public against buying the sanitisers and urged them to report the products found on the market.
“UNBS would also like to appeal to the public not to buy the 15 brands listed below because they failed the laboratory tests regarding the alcohol content (min 60 per cent min v/v), pH: 6-8 and Bactericidal efficacy, and are thus not certified by UNBS,” the bureau stated on their website yesterday.
The brands that failed the laboratory tests include Lovillea Gelly Cologne Hand Sanitiser, Blue++ King Hand Sanitiser – Aloe, Blue++ King Hand Sanitiser – Peach, Mimi Hand Sanitiser Gel and Tuku Instant hand sanitiser.
Others are Roxy Hand Sanitiser, Focus Instant hand sanitiser, Serene Instant Hand Sanitiser and LaFresh Instant Hand Sanitiser, among others.
As coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the globe, a number of unscrupulous people have taken advantage of the crisis by making fake hand sanitisers.
Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Health minister, directed NDA to sample all the sanitisers on the market and accredit facilities to enable the public purchase the right sanitisers.
“We have been telling the population that only sanitisers with 60 per cent alcohol are genuine. We are going to ask NDA to sample all sanitisers on the market and test them and then we shall accredit the facilities providing them,” Dr Aceng said.
Following this directive, NDA has cautioned the public against using 13 brands of sanitisers that failed to meet the various test parameters.
“After the minister’s directive, our teams disguised and bought samples from the market and we tested them, we picked what was being sold on the market,” Mr Fredrick Ssekyana, the NDA spokesperson, said.
However, some of those that passed the tests include Saraya, Humarub and Med-gel.
NDA said washing hands with soap and water for not less than 20 seconds is affordable and effective means of killing germs.
