Many products make claims on their product labels, but how do you know with confidence a disinfectant works as advertised? The simple answer is that disinfectant products cannot be offered for sale in Canada without satisfying Health Canada. It’s really about the claims made on a product label. Prior to selling a hard surface disinfectant in Canada, label claims must be submitted to Health Canada. The claims are reviewed in depth and must be supported and approved by Health Canada before any products can be released for sale.
Regulatory Requirements
The CleanSmart Surface Cleaner & Disinfectant is approved as a hard surface disinfectant. In Canada, hard surface disinfectants are regulated by the Food and Drug Act and Regulations with oversight by the Natural and Non-Prescription Health Products Directorate (NNHPD). To satisfy the definition of a hard surface disinfectant in Canada, a manufacturer must apply to the Directorate. The Directorate lists the hard surface disinfectant regulatory requirements here. The scope of these guidelines includes: “disinfectants for use on non-critical medical devices and hard non-porous environmental surfaces and inanimate objects in domestic, industrial/institutional, hospital, food processing, and/or barn premises, referred to as "hard surface disinfectants."
Claims
Hard surface disinfectant labels must satisfy very specific testing requirements, which are all defined by Health Canada. In order to satisfy the submission requirements of the Directorate, a product must meet or exceed the minimum requirements defined for each type of claim specified on the product label. To fulfill the testing requirements, CleanSmart performed testing at an independent laboratory. These tests are very rigorous and must be submitted with the Health Canada application. The application process is very strict and can take months.
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