On 12 May 2020, the Pakistan government notified the WTO it has finalized the impending implementation of the national standard for instant hand sanitizers and disinfectants based on alcohol ingredients.

The Chinese Standardization Administration (SAC) has recently released the full content of 7 national standards regarding the toxicological study, storage stability test, efficacy evaluation and production management of disinfectants, all of which will be implemented on October 1, 2020.

On Nov 27, 2019, the South Korean Ministry of Environment announced an amendment to the “Designation of Household Chemical Products Subject to Safety Verification and Safety and Labeling Standards”. The main contents in this amendment are to prohibit microbead from household cleaning products, the production and importation of humidifier liquid that added with chemicals and natural extract substance as well as the air filter uses of 5 respiratory-inhibitive substances including Polyhexamethyleneguanidine (PHMG), ethoxyethylguanidine chloride (PGH), poly (hexamethylene biguanide) hydrochloride (PHMB), methylisothiazolinone (MIT) and 5-chloromethylisothiazolinone (CMIT). Red seal ink pads, correction liquid/tape and Fog fluid for performance use are newly designated as the product subject to safety verification and the total number of product items has increased from 35 to 38 and their safety standards are as follows: Item Prohibited Substance Restrictive Substance and Limit Red seal ink pads Arsenic, Cadmium Mercury 500 mg / kg, Lead 500 mg / kg Correction fluids and tapes Benzene, Tetrachloroethylene (TCE)   Fog fluid for performance / Ethylene Glycol 10%, Diethylene Glycol 10% The uses of water-insoluble solid plastics up to 5 micrometers in cleansers, removers, laundry detergents, bleaches and fabric softeners shall be prohibited. In addition, mercury was designated as the prohibited substance in 4 types of biocidal products including fungicides, algaecides, insect repellents and wood preservatives and the tolerance limit will be 1 mg/kg. The designation of household chemical products subject to safety verification and safety and labeling standards is an important component of Korean biocide regulation, “Law 15511-Act on the

On 2nd Aug 2019, the MoARA’s Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau issued a missive to all provincial subordinates to recommend 10 disinfectants for African swine fever (ASF) control, which will be officially popularized among hog  all over the country.

On 30 Jan 2019, the National Health Commission published 6 voluntary hygienic standards for biocidal products, which will take effect on 1 Jul 2019. Among them, the “WS/T 650-2019 Evaluating Method for Efficacy of Antibacterial and Bacteriostasis” was firstly issued. The standard specifies 13 testing methods, procedures the application scope and criteria for commonly used items with antimicrobial claim including hand cleaner, sprays, gels, wet wipe, facial mask, sanitary towel, diaper, towel, underwear, socks, fabric, plastics, floorboards and tiles, etc. These antimicrobial products are mostly categorized as the Category II disinfection products but comparatively in a regulatory grey zone because most of them are not yet included into the pre-marketing assessment. Considering the complicacy of product type and feature, WS/T 650-2019 can be an evident progress and these commonly used antimicrobial products are likely to be brought into supervision after NHC made adequate clarification on product definition/scope, necessity of risk/safety assessment and relevant evaluation guidelines.

On March 20, 2018, the South Korean government officially promulgated law No. 15511 (K-BPR), which will be officially put into effect on January 1, 2019, with a sub-decree to be issued in December. On September 3, 2018, the Ministry of Environment (MoE) of South Korea held a seminar to assist with the interpretation of K-BPR and to discuss implementation details. The first Biocidal Substance Information Exchange Forum (Biocidal SIEF) was officially held on September 20-21, 2018. Biocidal SIEF is a voluntary organization of manufacturers and importers in Korea which participate in the regulatory implementation. The seminar and SIEF outlined the main K-BPR concerns put forward by companies, and MoE provided valuable answers.

On 12 Oct 2018, China NHC released the hygienic standard “WS 628-2018 Technical Requirements for the hygiene and safety evaluation of disinfection products”, which will be mandatorily implemented starting on the 1st of Mar 2019. The new standard includes some technical amendments to a former ministerial regulation, “Rules on the Hygienic and Safety Assessment on Disinfection Products”. Prior to marketing existing Category I and Category II disinfection products in China, producers and importers need to conduct hygiene and safety assessment and file the assessment report at provincial health departments. WS 628-2018 will be enforced in parallel with the ministerial rules. Producers and importers need to comply with the technical requirements in product testing, sample preparation and report compilation and follow the administrative requirements set forth in the rules.

On 22 Jun 2018, China NHC revealed that the final edition of the mandatory hygienic standard “Technical Requirements for the Hygienic Safety Assessment on Disinfection Products” has been submitted to the SAC (Standardization Administration) for final approval and promulgation.

On 30 May 2018, the Korean Ministry of Environments opened a 40-day public consultation on 2 draft regulations in support of the “Law 1511-Act on the Safety Management of Household Chemical Products and Biocides”. The Act was promulgated on 20 Mar 2018 and will be implemented on the 1st of Jan 2019.

On 25 Apr 2018, Shanghai NHC hosted an internal workshop to clarify common technical and regulatory issues which arose during the trial opening of the national electronic filing system of disinfection products. The new system collects safety assessment reports, product information and company details of all existing disinfection products. It was also revealed that a new inventory of antimicrobial ingredients is expected to be released this year which will define the scope of general household products and disinfection products. In future household products using biocidal ingredients and ambiguous efficacy labeling claims will no longer be able to evade filing or NHC's apprval requirements.