Hand Sanitizer, Disinfectant Demands Hit ‘Biblical Proportions’

Disinfectants and hand sanitizers remain hard to find at U.S. retailers, despite four months of emergency measures from the EPA and FDA to boost production, with supply chains maxed out by a still-raging pandemic.

“Demand for hand sanitizer and disinfectants is at biblical proportions right now,” said Owen Caine, executive vice president of government relations and public policy at the Household and Commercial Products Association.

Caine praised the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration for relaxing some regulations that have helped manufacturers streamline production processes while providing a pathway for new companies—including breweries and distilleries—to enter the ...