KEBS wishes to notify the public that we recently undertook Surveillance activities on hand sanitizers and the below listed hand sanitizer brands with their matching batch numbers were tested and did not comply with the various requirements of the Standards Act and EAS 789: East African Standard Specification for Instant Hand Sanitisers.
In this surveillance, a total of 47 brands were collected from the market and were assessed against various requirements of the Standards Act and EAS 789: East African Standard Specification for Instant Hand Sanitisers.
Thirty-three (33) representing 70% of the sampled brands met these requirements while fourteen (14) failed to meet these requirements. The manufacturers in the list are instructed to recall all affected Hand Sanitizer brands batches from the market.
In addition, it is the responsibility of the manufacturers to verify with KEBS that the other batches are compliant. They are to institute effective corrective actions whose effectiveness shall be confirmed by KEBS before resumption of production and placement of the brands in the market.
This is not a ban of the Hand Sanitizer brands but a temporary suspension until the products comply with the Kenya Standard. We also take this opportunity to urge the public to notify us as and when they find the above brands in the market through our toll-free number 1545.
KEBS conducts factory inspections, product certifications and market surveillance activities to monitor the quality of products sold to Kenyans at varied points of sale to give an assurance to the public on the status of the products they buy.
As part of product certification scheme, KEBS issues standardization mark (S-Mark) permits to manufacturers for products whose compliance to standards have been ascertained.
In addition, and as a secondary check, KEBS also collects samples from the market to ensure that the products placed in the market by the operators have adhered to the requirements on the S-Mark and by extension, the relevant standard.
It is also our responsibility to keep the public informed of the compliance status of products, including Hand Sanitizers, to enable consumers make informed choices in line with the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
Given the significance of Hand Sanitizers in fight against Covid-19 Pandemic, KEBS has put Hand Sanitizers in the categories of products desirous of constant surveillance and monitoring.
It is also our responsibility to keep the public informed of the compliance status of products, including Hand Sanitizers, to enable consumers make informed choices in line with the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
Given the significance of Hand Sanitizers in fight against Covid-19 Pandemic, KEBS has put Hand Sanitizers in the categories of products desirous of constant surveillance and monitoring.
KEBS is a facilitator of trade and manufacturing and is committed to working closely with the affected manufacturers to ensure that such non-compliances do not recur. Upon satisfactory resolution and conclusion of the issues, KEBS shall then inform the public once the products have met the requirements of the Kenya Standards.
Wajibika Na KEBS
We encourage the general public to be vigilant and inform KEBS upon encountering any products suspected to be substandard. Wajibika Na KEBS is a program that allows the public to report cases of substandard products.
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, invalid or not traceable to the platform, kindly report to KEBS through Toll Free Number 1545 during official working hours 8.00 AM to 1.00 PM and 2.00 PM to 5.00 PM, Monday to Friday.
If you are aware of any kind of foul play by any manufacturer, also report those cases to KEBS through the toll-free number.
The 14 non-compliant hand sanitiser brands and their manufacturers are:
- Shoka (Trident M. Limited)
- BlueKing (Blue Bubble Homecare)
- Jet (Kamili Packers Ltd)
- Kayda Care (Kayda Company Ltd)
- Apocan (Apocan Enterprises)
- Mychoice (Hanse Impex Ltd)
- Safe Touch (Brussels Laboratories)
- Afya (Diamond Industries Ltd)
- Labcare (Laboratory and allied Ltd)
- Aroma (Lusaki Ltd)
- Clear Hands (Syner-Chemie Ltd)
- Comely (Comely E.A Ltd)
- Germshild (Interconsumer Products Ltd)
- Sari (Nia Cosmetics Ltd)
