Public health scheme aims to plugs gap in market
Hygiene claims made on everyday products are to be the subject of consumer scrutiny thanks to the launch of a new accreditation scheme designed to endorse products that support health, hygiene and safety.
The scheme will rely on an expert panel from the Royal Institute of Public Health checking that hygiene claims made in their marketing or advertising are accurate and appropriate. Products that pass the assessment will be able to use the new accreditation kitemark.
According to institute chief executive Professor Richard Parish, the new launch aims to fill a gap in the market.
“No other accreditation scheme focuses exclusively on health and hygiene claims, and our endorsement gives a real benefit to consumers, and to those organisations that care about the integrity of their marketing," hew said.
Organisations in the fields of cleaning, infection control, hygiene and safety, who are interested in accreditation for their products, should contact Dr Anna Zilnyk at the Royal Institute of Public Health for more information.
John Pickup, one of the scientific advisors to the Royal Institute, said: “Hygiene products must be shown to provide significant benefits and their capabilities must be properly communicated without scare-mongering or exaggerating the risks."
The Royal Institute of Public Health is to change its name to the Royal Society for Public Health, pending its legal merger with the Royal Institute of Public Health (RIPH) on October 1st 2008.
Her Majesty The Queen has agreed to become Patron of the new organisation.