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Clean up your act, ministry warns sanitiser importers

Published:Tuesday | September 29, 2020 | 12:16 AM

Jamaica’s Ministry of Health & Wellness has warned importers of alcohol-based hand sanitisers that they must first have an approved permit from the Standards & Regulation Division before suppliers ship the product.

The warning comes a week after a Sunday Gleaner exposé found the market swamped with unapproved hand sanitisers as Jamaicans scoop up one of the most accessible weapons of war against the spiralling coronavirus pandemic.

The ministry said that there has been a “significant increase in the number of entities importing alcohol-based hand sanitisers without the requisite approval”. Bu

Shipments that arrive in the island prior to a permit being approved might not be allowed to be cleared at the ports, the health ministry said. Stock could also be seized and destroyed.

The National Compliance and Regulatory Authority’s list, up to a week ago, contained 32 approved hand sanitisers. But the agency said it has identified 74 brands in the domestic market.

More than 50,000 products have been seized to date for failure to meet the requirements.