By: Chaïra Flanders
Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 7, 2020 (ZIZ News): The St. Kitts and Nevis Bureau of Standards is quite pleased with the alcoholic content of local hand sanitizers.
Director of the St. Kitts and Nevis Bureau of Standards (SKNBS), Stuart Laplace made the announcement during Wednesday’s NEOC daily briefing.
He said the results follow several tests and analyses that were done to monitor the contents of the products produced locally to ensure that they were suitable for fighting COVID-19.
“We have reached out to those entities in some instances we have visited the actual location where we retrieved samples and brought them back to the Bureau to do some analysis I’m here to say that we are satisfied with the alcoholic content that is fit for purpose in terms of fighting the covid-19 so we have no issues there”, he said.
Mr. Laplace said however, that many of the businesses have expressed their interest in exporting the locally made hand sanitizers. He advised that products must first meet all the standard protocols associated with labeling and used the opportunity to share said requirements.
“The product must contain the country of origin, it must have a physical address as well as a contact for the business, the units that are required in terms of the standard units would be SI units so if you have ounces on the package that is fine but with relation to export it must have on let’s say millilitres if you listed in ounces. It must be accompanied by a batch number, it must have directions for use as well as warnings and it also must indicate the contents whether nutritional are otherwise”, he explained.
The Director said that in the instance of hand sanitizers, the business must indicate whether the product contains Aloe Vera or glycerin and must name the type of alcohol used.
He also asked that persons avoid labelling these products with outlandish statements or fraudulent claims that may include phrases like, “If you use this product it can cure cancer, stops you from getting sick or gives eternal life”.
He said labels such as these should not be placed on the products if they cannot be substantiated.