COVID19: SON Cautions Nigerians Over Substandard Hand Sanitisers

Apparently worried about the poor quality of the commodities amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on Friday, warned members of the public to be wary of substandard hand sanitiser in the market.

The Agency observed that hand sanitiser are supposed to be alcohol based but some products in the market are void of alcohol and as such lacks the efficacy to kill germs or sanitiser the hands effectively.

Acting State Coordinator of SON in Plateau State, Mr James Yakzam who gave the warning during the presentation of SON’s Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) Certification to NELMACO Global Resources Ltd,said some of the products are concocted with all sorts of materials that could be detrimental to the end user.

According to him, products without SON certification are in the market illegally and can be detrimental to the public having not met the requirements for quality and safety.

Yakzam said :“There is a specified standard for alcohol based hand sanitiser and people who want to produce hand sanitiser locally should come to SON office to seek proper guidelines for production and for the purchase of the required alcohol.

“SON will be going round shops in the state to seize substandard hand sanitisers that do not meet the specified requirement and anyone caught selling substandard sanitiser will be prosecuted.

“I want to advise the general public to stop purchasing manufactured products without SON’s certification,’’ he said.

The state coordinator said that every product that met the requirements of the Nigerian Industrial Standards was safe and certified with either a MANCAP or a NIS (Nigerian Mark of Quality) sign.

Yakzam said the organisation ensured that all manufactured products complied with NIS requirements before their introduction to the market to promote consumer confidence and global competitiveness of Nigerian goods and services.

He also cautioned the company to continue to adhere to standard in spite being certified.

On his part, Mr Nelson Mkparu, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NELMACO Global Resources LTD, said that his products had passed the monitoring process and conforms to the Nigerian Industrial Standards which shows its safety and quality.

He promised that his company would not compromise on quality which would make the products compete favorably globally.