New H&S scheme declared open

The Royal Institute of Public Health has launched a new accreditation scheme designed to endorse products that support health, hygiene and safety. This new scheme will enable consumers to see at a glance whether the hygiene claims made for everyday products are fact or fiction.

Products will be scrutinised by The Royal Institute's panel of experts to check that any hygiene claims made in their marketing or advertising are accurate and appropriate. John Pickup, one of the scientific advisors to the Royal Institute who has worked extensively on the communication of claims for hygiene products, said: "Hygiene products must be shown to provide significant benefits and their capabilities must be properly communicated without scare-mongering or exaggerating the risks."

Products which pass this rigorous assessment will be able to use the new accreditation kitemark, which demonstrates that their claims have been closely examined and approved by an independent team of specialists in their field. Professor Richard Parish, chief executive of the Royal Institute, added: "We have researched this market carefully and have found that there is a real gap to be filled. 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."

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.