Relaxed regulations and implemented derogations
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait has adopted three EU standards specifying the test methods and registration requirements for hand disinfectants. Two of the standards define test methods to establish whether a handwash product is effective. The third covers surface disinfectants for use in food, industrial, domestic and institutional areas.
Kuwait is fast-tracking the adoption and entry into force of the standards due to the urgency of the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. They will be implemented seven days from their publication by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Canada
Health Canada has updated its list of hard-surface disinfectants and hand sanitisers that it is allowing to be sold under Covid-19 regulatory exemptions.
The list now holds 208 products.
Canada
The Canadian government has issued an interim policy to increase access to certain consumer products, citing "an unprecedented demand for household cleaning products regulated under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) and hand soaps and body soaps regulated as cosmetics under the Food and Drugs Act (FDA)" .
Under the interim policy, household cleaning products may be sold even if they do not conform to all CCPSA labelling requirements, including if:
- the product is labelled only in one official language;
- the hazard symbol is missing on the label; and/or
- safety and cautionary information on the label does not conform to regulatory requirements.
Similarly, hand and body soaps regulated under the FDA may be sold even if:
- the label is only in one official language; and/or
- the ingredients are not listed on the label exactly as outlined in the regulations.
The interim policy does not change other requirements under the applicable regulations.
Europe
Echa has published recommended compositional requirements for the following three active substances for use in disinfectants:
- sodium hypochlorite;
- hydrogen peroxide; and
- peracetic acid
The agency says it is acutely aware of the "need to ensure adequate supply of active substances for use in biocidal products for disinfection purposes". The most effective way to address these needs is for competent authorities to follow article 55(1) of the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) to permit the placing on the market under derogations, it says.
Echa’s document provides key compositional requirements for the substances.
Supply-chain concerns
US
The US Food and Drug Administration has issued another emergency authorisation for the decontamination of N95-equivalent respirators to meet demand for reuse by health care workers during the pandemic.
The latest authorisation allows for the use of the Sterizone VP4 steriliser, a stand-alone device that uses vaporised hydrogen peroxide and ozone in a multiphase process. Apart from the handful of recent emergency declarations, the FDA said there "are no FDA approved, licensed, or cleared devices for decontaminating compatible N95 respirators".