About Sanitiser Expiry Dates
This month someone asked us an interesting question about the expiration dates of hand sanitisers:
Question: Do they expire and do they require an expiry date on the label?
This particular question was asked about our Allchem Hand Sanitiser, but the answer applies to all our other hand sanitisers as well.
Answer: Allchem Hand Sanitiser contains 70% Ethanol. If the product is in its original condition and stored appropriately it will continue to kill micro-organisms indefinitely.
The efficacy of the product is not dependant on its age. The product’s efficacy may however be affected by storage conditions and handling. Over time, if the product is exposed to light, heat or has a loose cap, it may lose ethanol through evaporation. If the ethanol content dropped below 60% it would no longer be considered effective.
Each 500 ml bottle has a batch code which makes the product traceable if there is a quality issue. Currently we would expect our hand sanitisers to have no loss of efficacy for at least 2 years if stored appropriately – Industry standards have suggested that 70% hand sanitisers will still be effective for 3 years.
In conclusion to answer the original question, we have not had a requirement to put an expiry date on hand sanitisers previously, however if there was a requirement for a date of manufacture or a use by date we could investigate the possibility of dating the product at the time of manufacture.
