The Commerce Commission has filed charges against Zoono, a Kiwi sanitiser business, alleging it made "unsubstantiated representations about the performance of its hand and surface sanitiser products".
The commission said it alleges between July 2019 to August 2023 Zoono made a number of claims about its products.
"For example that Zoono hand sanitiser would protect users against 99.9% or 99.99% of germs, including salmonella, for up to and for 24 hours, and the Zoono Microbe Shield surface would kill 99.9% or 99.99% of germs for up to and for 30 days."
The commission said Zoono didn't back up claims it made about how long the products would last and be effective in real world conditions, and Zoono hadn't tested the hand sanitiser against salmonella at the time the claim was made.
Fair Trading general manager Kirsten Mannix said businesses must back up the claims they make about their products, particularly claims consumers can't easily test themselves.
"Businesses must have sufficiently credible information to support the claims they make, when they make them," Mannix said.
"Where businesses make claims about a product’s performance in the real world, they must have evidence that supports the claim in its entirety, including to support the product's performance when put to everyday use as intended."
The case is now before the courts.
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