Hygiene is a cornerstone of public health, and cleaning is essential to deliver hygiene. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reports that food poisoning causes approximately 420,000 deaths annually – many of which are preventable with better hygiene practices. Similarly, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates over 3.5 million healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) occur each year, with up to 50% preventable through effective infection control measures.
“Hygiene standards are fundamental to our daily lives,” Alexis Van Maercke, Director General at A.I.S.E., the European detergents and maintenance products industry association, told policy-makers at a recent European Parliament event: “We cannot imagine a world where cleaning products are no longer efficient or fit for purpose.”
The event, hosted by The Parliament Magazine and A.I.S.E., emphasised the importance of hygiene for our health. The discussions were particularly timely as policy-makers work on revising the Detergents Regulation, which governs the placement of cleaning products on the EU market.
The proposed revision is now entering the Trilogues, the interinstitutional negotiations in which the Commission, the Parliament and the Council will reach a final agreement on the new legislative text. This revision represents an opportunity to boost the competitiveness of the EU industry, support innovation, and reduce administrative burden through legislative simplification.
Alexis Van Maercke mentioned that the industry welcomes the proposal to update and modernise the legislation, reflecting innovative solutions brought to the EU market in the past few years, but stressed the importance of maintaining a balance between safety, sustainability, and product performance. “Our industry is dedicated to further innovation and moving forward to more sustainable and biodegradable products,” he said. “However, this cannot come at the expense of product performance or have adverse consequences.”
He highlighted that cleaning products are crucial in maintaining hygiene and safety in homes, hospitals, schools and workplaces. Global food poisoning and healthcare-associated infections would be reduced through better hygiene standards.
We cannot imagine a world where cleaning products are no longer efficient or fit for purpose
The event was hosted by MEP Maria Grapini, Vice-Chair of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) Committee. She underscored the importance of hygiene to health, saying the cleaning products industry was “indispensable.” “We must not underestimate the importance of this industry and cleaning products - they are essential for a sustainable, healthy and safe way of life,” she said. “Only by keeping our living and working environment clean can we avoid infections – not only in a pandemic, but also every day.”
Professor Dirk Bockmühl, expert in hygiene and microbiology at Rhein-Waal University pointed out that “hygiene has saved more lives than any other invention - we have to cherish this because this really matters and helps to prolong our lives”.
MEP Grapini also echoed the call for regulations crafted in consultation with the industry to ensure practicality and cost-effectiveness. “Together, we can create better regulations in the internal market for a healthier and more sustainable future,” she said.
Florian Vernay, President of A.I.S.E., stressed that regulatory revisions should encourage investment in research and development while avoiding administrative burdens on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A.I.S.E. counts some 600 SMEs among its network, with these companies covering 85% of the industry’s manufacturing facilities in Europe. “Food factories, public hospitals and public transport – none of these industries can perform safely if cleaning and maintenance are not routinely carried out,” Mr Vernay said.
“Protecting our health by delivering hygiene in a safe and sustainable manner – this is the raison d’être of our industry. It is essential that Europe’s new leaders deliver a regulatory framework that helps us fulfil this vision - to innovate with new and better ingredients, with new and better formats, and to help alleviate the administrative burden on SMEs.”
Speaking earlier at the event, Hans Ingels, the Head of Unit for bioeconomy, chemicals, and cosmetics in DG GROW, set out the Commission’s objective behind the revision, which he said was vital to ensure a futureproof legislation. The revision, he said, would “integrate the latest innovative and scientific advancements, strengthen the Single Market for detergents, and address overlaps with other legislation”.
Furthermore, Mr Ingels highlighted that “hygiene is very important and we all need to clean with safe, effective and reliable products. It is important that we have a good and effective legal framework enabling such products on the European Single Market.”.”
Dr. Andreea Capilna, an infection prevention expert and part of the Clean Hospitals platform, emphasised the critical role of hygiene in preventing healthcare-associated infections which cause 90,000 deaths annually in Europe. “Applying good hospital hygiene protocols can prevent almost 50% of these infections,” she said, adding that prevention is not only cost-effective but also saves lives. “There are high costs for hospitalisation, research, treatment, and of course, the cost of human life which cannot be evaluated.”
The panel also discussed a potential reclassification of ethanol. Ethanol plays a crucial role in preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) due to its effectiveness as an active ingredient in hand sanitisers, surface disinfectants, and hygiene processes in hospitals. Beyond healthcare, ethanol is also widely used in food production and other cleaning applications to maintain hygiene standards.
Attendees heard how a potential reclassification of ethanol could have significant implications for its availability and application in these critical contexts. Dr. Capilna highlighted its role in infection prevention, noting that no effective alternative currently exists. Mr Van Maercke echoed her remarks, saying ethanol was “critical to fight healthcare-associated infections and is a vital ingredient for the efficacy of hand sanitisers, and in surface disinfectants”. “Ethanol is absolutely key, and there is no current alternative to ethanol in these products,” he reiterated.
Mr Vernay reaffirmed the industry’s commitment to continuing the good collaboration with policy-makers to shape the legislation essential to the detergents industry.
Furthermore, he added that the fundamental raison d’être of the cleaning products industry “is to ensure the availability of products and services that protect our way of living, maintain our homes, enable businesses like the food and healthcare sectors to function, and protect our health by delivering hygiene, in a safe and sustainable manner.”
“Let’s keep talking about hygiene; we cannot take it for granted. This is one of the key takeaways from today’s conversation”, Alexis Van Maercke reminded participants as they picked up bottles of hand disinfectant gel following a vibrant conversation with fascinating insights into how important hygiene practices are to protect us every day.
Based in Brussels, A.I.S.E. has been the voice of the industry to EU regulators since 1952. Membership consists of 29 national associations across Europe,19 corporate members and 23 value chain partners. Through this extensive network, A.I.S.E. represents over 900 companies supplying household and
professional cleaning products and services across Europe
For more information visit www.aise.eu
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