Local company answers call to produce hand sanitizer

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This article was published 08/06/2020 (2183 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shortly after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 11, officials from Health Canada began contacting facilities they have licensed to produce health products in hopes some of those companies could also produce hand sanitizer and other personal protection equipment.

Innotech Nutrition Solutions, a Winnipeg based company that has been in business since 2001 and carries a site licence through Health Canada’s natural and non-prescription health products directorate, was among the first local companies to answer the call for help.

According to Innotech’s chief executive officer, Wayne Friesen, thanks to already having many of the systems in place required to make hand sanitizer, they were able to quickly begin production of this much needed commodity.

“Health Canada reached out to us a couple of months ago to make hand sanitizer,” says Friesen, “so in response we began making a really value-added premium hand sanitizer that has been very well received.”

Each 60-ml bottle delivers 325 sprays of a fine mist that not only kills bacteria, but also moisturizes your hands.

As an initial act of good faith, Innotech gave Bioscience Association Manitoba (BAM) 500 care packages that included bottles of hand sanitizer as well as the company’s ColFlex Oregano Oral Spray and other health supplements. BAM distributed the packages to front-line workers including doctors, nurses, paramedics, firefighters and police officers.

The all-natural ColFlex throat spray is made from a blend of essential spice oils — oregano, thyme, spearmint and lemon — and has been clinically proven to be safe and effective in helping fight cold-and-flu-related bacteria. ColFlex has been available for about seven years now in health food stores, select pharmacies and natural health-care clinics across Canada. Friesen noted the essential spice oils Innotech uses have been used for centuries to help treat a variety of ailments.

Innotech employs about 40 people at their Winnipeg facility and hand-sanitizer production has been keeping the bottle fillers and conveyer belts humming day and night to meet the demand.

“We’ve bottled the hand sanitizer in a personal size. We feel that people will use them more frequently if they have a 60-ml size than they would a hand sanitizer that’s in a larger bottle or attached to a wall,” says Friesen. “So this is something they would be carrying in their pocket, their purse or their car. It’s infused with essential oils so it actually makes their skin feel good, rather than drying it out and causing cracks.”

In addition to the hand sanitizer, throat spray and vitamin supplements, Innotech Nutrition Solutions also makes a variety of natural products including a popular herbal tea for intermittent fasting support and they are currently working on sugar-free chocolates formulated to boost immunity.

willy@freepress.mb.ca