Hand hygiene has never been as important as now in the midst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds is essential to help stop the spread of this virus. If soap and water are not available then using an alcohol based hand sanitiser is recommended.1 This article looks at the regulatory requirements for placing on to the market hand sanitisers in the European Union. It considers whether products are biocides or cosmetics. It then looks at the requirements of the European Biocides Regulation (EU) 528/2012. The second part of this article looks at how hand sanitisers are regulated in the United States of America and the temporary policy that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has adopted for hand sanitisers.
European Union
Antibacterial products can be classed as cosmetics, biocides or medicines based on their function, the way they are presented and the claims made. For an antibacteri
