Hand sanitiser standards in the offing

The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has buoyed demand for hand sanitisers and hand rubs in the country, encouraging a big number of firms to bring out the disinfectants in the market.

A senior official of the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) said they gave no-objection certificates (NOCs) to 15 firms to make hand sanitisers for a temporary period of six months apart from allowing about 70 pharmaceuticals to make hand rubs.

"We gave permission considering the Covid-19 situation and to ensure increased availability of the disinfectants," said DGDA Director Md Ayub Hossain over the phone.

However, not all firms have got the NOCs from the DGDA to make hand sanitisers, particularly for alcohol-based ones, since there was no clear guideline in the first place, said industry insiders.

Now, the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) says it has formulated standards for hand sanitisers and was waiting for the final approval.

"We expect to finalise the standards by the end of this month," said Nilufa Hoque, director for standards at the BSTI.

The BSTI took the initiative to develop the standards as demand for disinfectants surged and consumers saw the arrival of numerous brands on the shelves of stores.

Industry insiders said hand sanitisers were one of the least sought items even in January this year and the total size of the market for the product was around Tk 3 crore in 2019.

It became one of the most sought-after items just after the first detection of coronavirus case in the country on March 8.

In tune with the spiralling demand, several local and multinational companies came up with the hand sanitisers and disinfectants in their range of business.

The size of the market for hand sanitisers is expected to reach around Tk 100 crore by the end of the year, said a top official of a leading company.

Hoque said apart from preparing the standards for alcohol-based hand sanitisers, the standards institution would initially offer a type of licence that firms could voluntarily avail to boost the confidence of the customers of hand sanitisers.

Jesmin Zaman, head of marketing of Square Toiletries, which sells the "Sepnil" brand of hand sanitisers, said the development of a standard for hand sanitisers would give a guideline to manufacturers and benefit consumers.