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 standard was drafted by the Fine Chemical Technical Committee and approved by the National Standards Committee for Chemical and finally adopted by Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority on 5 May 2020. The standard prescribes the technical requirements, packing, marking and testing methods for alcohol instant and sanitizer and surface disinfectants, which will take effect 90 days after the circulation by the WTO secretariat.
Both liquid and gel sanitizers follow the similar requirements on PH value, bacterial efficacy, material purity, but the alcohol ingredient and excipient in gel sanitizer and disinfectant have a wider variation range:
Item | Purity (%) | Required volume per 10-liter batch |
Liquid and Gel Instant Hand Sanitizers | ||
PH |
| |
Alcohol content(ethanol and/or isopropanol, n-propannol) | 96-98
| 8333 ml(Liquid); 7515-8333 ml(Gel)
|
Hydrogen Peroxide | 2-3 | 417±2 |
Gycerol/Glycerin | 95-98 | 145±1 |
Sterile distilled or boiled cold water(liquid); Aloevera Gel/Carmober Gel(gel) | 100 | 1105±3(Liquid) 1100-1300±3 (Gel) |
Spray Surface Disinfectants | ||
Alcohol content(ethanol and/or isopropanol, n-propannol) | 65-75 | 7515-8300 |
Hydrogen Peroxide | 2-3 | 417±2 |
Gycerol/Glycerin | 95-98 | 145±1 |
Sterile distilled or boiled cold water(liquid);
| 100 | 1138±3 |
The prohibited material listed in the “EAS 377-2: Specification for classification of cosmetic raw material & Adjuncts” shall not be used in hand sanitizer. It is allowable to use a colorant in the product as long as the colorant poses no toxicity, allergic effect, or interference with antimicrobial efficacy, but the use of perfumes or dyes is strongly discouraged.