Statement on Withdrawal of Approval of Hand Sanitiser Product ViraPro

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine announced yesterday that it had removed the hand sanitiser product Virapro Hand Sanitiser (PCS 100409) from the Biocidal Product Register and that the product should be withdrawn from the market. Prolonged use of that product may cause dermatitis, eye irritation, upper respiratory system irritation , or headaches.

In the course of the investigation in relation to this matter, it has emerged that a number of other sanitiser products under the Virapro brand were not on the Department’s approved list for biocidal products. The company concerned has been advised to withdraw all of these products from the market.

The Department is therefore advising, on a precautionary basis, that all sanitiser products in the Virapro range should be returned to the supplier. Members of the public are advised to stop using these products because they are not authorised for use.

All sanitiser products containing biocides must have a clearly visible PCS or an IE/BPA or EU number on the label.

A Department investigation into this matter is ongoing