Initially, ZdG aimed to test the effectiveness of disinfectants on the Moldovan market and the amount of alcohol contained in antiseptic products. However, after we inquired with several laboratories in the country, we found that such a comprehensive test is not possible, so we gave up checking the effectiveness of disinfection products. Several laboratories declined our request to evaluate disinfectants’ composition, declaring that they do not do such tests. In the end, we decided to turn to the National Agency for Public Health.

The National Agency for Public Health, the institution that registers the Moldovan market’s biocidal products, initially got the testing. Shortly afterward, the head of the institution denied our request. Only Medicines and Medical Devices Agency representatives agreed to test the three products, costing us up to 300 euros.

“As for the composition, we can only determine the concentration, the number of active substances. If there is ethyl alcohol declared on the label, then we can do the test, and we can prove it,” told us the head of the health expertise department within the National Agency for Public Health.

In the end, the specialist specified that testing the composition of disinfectants is possible, but only with the approval of Nicolae Furtună, the head of the National Agency for Public Health.

Chief epidemiologist: “We can’t deal with this right now.”

We telephoned Nicolae Furtună, and he refused to comply with our request, stating that he has other priorities, that the laboratories are busy or invoking logistics problems: “We inform you that the National Agency for Public Health does not administer chemical testing of active substances in biocidal products,” 

After the National Agency for Public Health denied our request, we turned to several laboratories in the country, including private ones and university laboratories. However, they all declared that they could NOT test disinfectants. Finally, we concluded an agreement with the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices agreeing to determine ethyl alcohol concentration in the three disinfectants.

Disinfectants with 70 percent concentration of alcohol can defeat the virus

We only tried the alcohol amount of disinfectants, having as criteria the World Health Organization recommendations: disinfectants with 70 percent alcohol concentration can defeat it.

One of the disinfectants we tested was ChemiDEZ Skin Gel, produced by Chemix Grupp SRL. Dinari Cojocaru, the municipal councilor from the Socialists Party, was recently the owner of the company Chemix Grupp. He is also related to President Igor Dodon’s brother. 

The second disinfectant was Farmol-Cid, widely found in several hospitals and pharmacies.

 The final product selected for testing was the antibacterial gel Cosmeplant, manufactured by Viorica Cosmetic SA. Viorica Cosmetic is part of the DAAC Hermes group specializing in car imports. The company’s president is Chisinau’s city hall counselor and Socialists’ Party member, Vasile Chirtoca.

After testing the three products, the specialists from the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices told us they are all confirmed. ZdG could not carry alternative testing of disinfectants and compare the results obtained because other laboratories refused to do the testing.