A new study has revealed that many hand sanitiser brands sold in Johannesburg in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic contained traces of toxic ingredients and less alcohol than required.
The study was published in Scientific Reports this month and was conducted by researchers from the National Health Laboratory Service national institute for occupational health.
It was prompted by media reports that many alcohol-based hand sanitisers were substandard and some contained potentially toxic ingredients.
The researchers set out to identify hand sanitisers without the recommended alcohol concentration of at least 70% propanol or 60% ethanol, and those that contained toxic ingredients.
Hand sanitisers in and around Tshwane are substandard, study finds
The World Health Organisation recommended the use of alcohol-based hand sanitisers, in the absence of soap and water, to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“Unfortunately, many hand sanitisers in SA have not been verified to meet the regulators’ recommendations or that they are manufactured under the stipulated regulatory conditions,” the researchers said.
“In addition, the regulator [SA Bureau of Standards] lacks verifiable information to ascertain the methods being used to prepare hand sanitisers at homes and to determine if these sanitisers are safe for use on human skin.”
The researchers collected 94 samples of hand sanitiser from shops and street vendors between March and June 2020.
“While more (56%) brands of hand sanitiser in this study contained the recommended concentration of alcohol, there were also many (44%) substandard and possibly subpotent preparations,” the study found.
“The study also found that only 30% (10 gels and 9 liquids) of the analysed hand sanitisers contained 80% alcohol.
“Even though alcohol concentrations higher than 80% are known to be less potent against bacteria because proteins are not easily denatured in the absence of water, this bodes well for disinfection against SARS-CoV-2 as ethanol at 80% is highly effective against enveloped viruses.”