[우먼타임스 서은진 기자] With the increasing interest in hygiene management due to Corona 19, the use of hand sanitizers and hand sanitizers is increasing, and it is necessary to confirm and use the efficacy of each product. Hand sanitizers are literally used to wash hands for’cleansing’, and they do not have the function of’sterilization’ like hand sanitizers (quasi-drugs).
The Korea Consumer Agency announced on the 21st the results of a survey of ethanol content and labeling conditions for 15 hand sanitizers (quasi-drug products) and 10 gel time hand sanitizers (cosmetics) in the market.
According to this, all of the hand sanitizers met the relevant standards, but most of the hand sanitizers classified as cosmetics are advertised as being hand sanitizers (quasi-drugs) with disinfecting and sterilizing effects, and thus it was found that improvement is needed.
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety,’hand sanitizer’ is a product intended for washing hands while foaming with water, and’cosmetics’ for the purpose of’cleaning and cleansing’ by physically washing away germs and viruses attached to the skin. It is classified as
On the other hand,’hand sanitizer’ is a drug that exhibits antibacterial effect against sterilization and viruses, and is a’quasi-drug’ used for the purpose of’sterilization and disinfection’ of hands and skin.
The’Pharmaceutical Affairs Act’ and the’Cosmetics Act’ prohibits the labeling and advertisement of cosmetics in such a way that they have medical efficacy and effects or may be misrecognized as pharmaceutical (non-medical) products.
However, all 10 hand sanitizers subject to this inspection are marked with a risk of misunderstanding or confusion as a drug (non-drug), such as’sterilization, antibacterial, disinfection, sterilizing power 99%, hand sanitizer, skin disinfectant, pharmacy use’ It turns out they are advertising In addition, it was confirmed that 2 out of 10 products lacked ethanol content by up to 64.8% compared to the label.
In the case of all 15 hand sanitizer products, the ethanol content met the standard, and methanol, a hazardous substance, was not detected.
An official from the Korea Consumer Agency said, “When purchasing hand sanitizers for the purpose of preventing Corona 19, you must check whether there is a quasi-drug label.”
Also, based on the results of this survey, it recommended improvement to businesses that misrepresent the detergent as a hand sanitizer, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is expected to reinforce the management and supervision of hand sanitizer labeling, advertisements.