KEBS bans 8 substandard hand sanitizer brands

The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has suspended the permits of eight hand sanitizer brands for not meeting the set requirements.

KEBS, in a statement to the press on Sunday, said it had withdrawn the standardization mark for the following products:

1. Alphax (Kings Palace)
2. Clean Essentials (Virtuelle Products Ltd)
3. G&L (Orange Pharma)
4. Gentle Care (Bidco Africa)
5. Lili (Kenbrands International Company)
6. Msiri (Mafleva International Ltd)
7. Shi shi Natural
8. Spotless Advanced (Havana East Africa Trading)

The State agency further directed manufacturers of the said brands to discontinue sale and to recall all the substandard hand sanitizers from the market.

The suspension of their permits, KEBS added, will only be lifted upon confirmation of the effectiveness of the corrective actions instituted by the manufacturers.

“KEBS shall continue to undertake market surveillance and factory inspections. Substandard products found will be seized for destruction at the expense of the owner in addition to any other legal action as provided under the law,” read the statement.

The agency also encouraged the public to be on the lookout for substandard products though the ‘Wajibika Na KEBS’ program that them to report cases.

“To Wajibika, verify whether the S Mark permit on your product is valid by sending the code underneath the S Mark to 20023 (SM#Code) to get product manufacturing details. If the details are different, report to KEBS Toll Free Number 1545,” it stated.