The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) has included laundry detergent powder (soap powder) as part of its monitoring of commodities under its Standards of Compliance.
According to GNBS the monitoring is to ensure that soap powder complies with the quality and labelling requirements as outlined in the Guyana Standards Specifi-cation for Synthetic laundry detergent powder as it had observed a “significant increase in the quantity and brands of laundry detergent powder manufactured and imported for sale on the local market” over the last year.
The press release stated that consumers, manufacturers, and importers need to be aware of the requirements governing the sale and use of the product because of the chemical nature of laundry detergent powder and the possible effects on users and wash items.
The release further noted that the standard required soap powders to be homogenous in appearance, free flowing, readily dispersible in water, have cleaning and lathering properties, not injurious to health of users or adversely affect the environment.
The GNBS said it is vital for the importers and manufacturers as well as consumers of soap powder to ensure that the labelling of the product includes: the name of the product in the words “laundry detergent powder”, brand name and or recognised trademark, name and address of manufacturer and distributor including the country of origin, the net weight of the contents, instruction for applicable use.
The labelling of the product should also include the precautions and potential hazards, the month and year of manufacture and “best before” date, the batch number and a caution statement as to the irritant capability of the detergent. If these requirements are not met, the release stated, consumers should take steps to discontinue the use of the non-complying brand.
