People the world over have become more conscious about hygiene in recent months, as the number of coronavirus cases continue to rise globally. However it has now been alleged that a brand of hand sanitiser sold in Australia would have been “woefully ineffective” in the fight against Covid-19, according to Choice.
On Thursday, the consumer advocacy group accused Mosaic Brands – whose well-known clothing brands include Rockmans, Katies, Millers, Rivers, Noni B, Beme, Autograph and Crossroads – of mislabelling its hand sanitiser, claiming the alcohol content of the gel was actually much lower. Choice sent a sample of Mosaic Brands’ hand sanitiser to the National Measurement Institute (NMI) for testing, after a customer named Kathy questioned the alcohol content, telling Choice: “It doesn’t smell like alcohol and wouldn’t burn.”
According to Choice, lab testing showed that the product contained 23 per cent alcohol, despite the bottle being labelled 70 per cent. However Mosaic Brands has since hit back at Choice’s assertions, telling Starts at 60 that the company has testing documentation from the supplier that shows the alcohol content of the hand sanitiser is within the range to eliminate 99.8% of germs.
“It is most unfortunate that Choice has ignored the attached letter we sent them on Tuesday 14 July 2020 and has published this assertion before the results of further tests could be received,” a spokesperson said.
“We believe that Choice’s insistence on publishing the article today is purely to generate sensationalism and is irresponsible as it risks alarming buyers of the product unnecessarily if these further tests confirm that the alcohol level is as stated in the documentation we have received from the supplier.”
Choice director of campaigns and communications Erin Turner said: “If a customer comes to you with valid concerns about your product, especially a product essential to public health in the midst of a pandemic, you take them seriously.
“We don’t want the community to be unnecessarily alarmed, but given the poor response Kathy received and a number of community members contacting us, we need expectations, standards and communication lifted across the board from all retailers selling products related to public health. With our upcoming tests, all retailers selling these products are on notice.”
After being contacted by Choice, Mosaic Brands agreed to temporarily withdraw the product in question from sale while it investigated the matter further. In a letter to Choice, seen by Starts at 60, a brand spokesperson said: “Since you contacted us, we have requested and received further test results from the manufacturer of our hand sanitiser. These show that the alcohol level of the batch from which our product came was within the recommended range to eliminate 99.8% of germs.
“As a result, and as you have declined to allow us to carry out our own tests on the bottle you have received, we do not accept your assertion.”
They added: “The health and safety of our customers is of paramount importance to us, so yesterday – before we received the further test results mentioned above – we withdrew the product from sale temporarily pending further clarification. Orders for the product will not be fulfilled until we receive the results of the independent tests we are undertaking.”