Following the end of the Transition Period on 31 December 2020, Great Britain is no longer part of the EU scheme for regulating biocides.

The existing EU Biocidal Products Regulation (EU BPR) has been copied into GB law and amended to enable it to operate effectively in GB. This means that most aspects of EU BPR will continue in the same way under the new stand-alone regime.

On February 1, 2017, hydrogen peroxide was approved as an active substance for the Product Types (PTs) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2015/1730).

Roam Technology NV subsequently submitted a dossier for the “Huwa-San Product Family” with reference UA-APP-BC-ND029406-48 for product types (PT) 02, 03, 04 and 05 under the Union authorisation procedure. Since 2018, the Huwa-San Product Family dossier has undergone a number of positive validations by the evaluating authorities and is continuing its journey towards full BPR approval.

In 2018, Roam Technology NV opened its UK office and in doing so, positioned itself perfectly for UK and EU business in preparation for a post Brexit world. Working closely with the GB Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and following their stated guidelines for the GB BPR submission dates, the Huwa-San product family dossier is in the process of being submitted and validated, with HSE pending approval expected later in 2021 for product types (PT) 02, 03, 04 and 05.

The HSE state that the expiry date on this type of application should be submitted no later than June 2021.

For the avoidance of any doubt, the Huwa-San family of products are legally authorised to be placed on the UK market during this transitional period pending approval by the HSE.

Filip Smaers, Chief Technology Officer Roam Technology NV said: “The UK is strategically & commercially very important for our business and the Huwa-San product range is currently producing record sales figures. Having a dedicated distribution & logistics centre holding all our Huwa-San stock enables a fast and reactive next day service anywhere in the UK. This coupled with unrivalled technical support from our highly experienced UK team has been the key to the Roam Technology UK success.”

Mr Smaers went on to say: “Huwa-San is the market leading silver stabilised hydrogen peroxide in the UK and our commitment and further investment into this market will ensure that it stays as the preferred product for commercial livestock, horticulture and water treatment professionals alike.”

For the legionella control sector, where Huwa-San has been the trusted product for over 20 years, Roam Technology have invested in continued efficacy testing with leading laboratories such as SGS and Eurofins. This has produced ground breaking results against Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms which are potentially very dangerous in themselves but will also house many different micro-bacterial elements including legionella bacteria. Eurofins reports showed that both shock treatments and very low level constant dosing of Huwa-San has been proven to both eradicate and prevent these biofilms from causing the problems they do.

Robert Wilson B.Sc. M.W.M.Soc has worked with Huwa-San for over 15 years, and said: “Huwa-San has been proven to be the most stable and effective, silver stabilised hydrogen peroxide. A recent Eurofins report shows that Huwa-San can eradicate Pseudomonas biofilm at very low concentrations EN13623 (1) while stating that a peroxide based product will kill Legionella, is actually a poor method for assessing whether one silver stabilised hydrogen peroxide (SSHP) is superior to another. The effectiveness of an SSHP needs to be based on how the silver ion allows the chemical to deal with a biofilm containing a high catalase containing bacterium such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In my opinion, the efficiency for an SSHP against legionella should always be examined as a combination of its biofilm removal/prevention capabilities and its ability to eradicate free floating (planktonic) legionella bacteria in water. Product stability in use is key and that’s where Huwa-San outperforms the competitors, because of the unique way that the silver ion is protected.” – Mr Wilson has acted as an expert witness in over 20 water treatment related cases in the UK and has provided expert evidence to two international arbitrations. He has also acted as a technical expert for one of the defendants during the Edinburgh Legionnaires’ Disease case.

The report from Eurofins (2) that Mr Wilson refers to, showed that Huwa-San TR-50, at a concentration of just 500ppm, produced a >log4 (>99.99%) reduction of a fully formed Pseudomonas Aeruginosa biofilm within 24 hours. Eurofins also reported (3) that when constant dosed at just 30ppm active, Huwa-San prevented the re-formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm. This data has proved invaluable for the Huwa-San partners in the legionella control sector.

Over the past 15 years companies in the UK have made Huwa-San the market leader and have trusted in its performance time and time again. With its unrivalled efficacy, technical support and access to the Huwa-San partner network benefits such as certified training, on-site presence from our team and access to a global knowledge hub, Huwa-San stands head and shoulders above its competitors.

(1) BS EN13623 – Quantitative suspension test for the evaluation of bactericidal activity against Legionella of chemical disinfectants for aqueous systems.

(2) Eurofins Final Report No S-2016-04609 SAM Pseudomonas aeruginosa BIOFILM DISINFECTION BY BIOCIDE INTERACTS WITH THE BIOFILM-EMBEDDED CELLS ON HUWA-SAN TR-50 14.01.17.

(3) Eurofins IN VITRO EVALUATION OF Pseudomonas aeruginosa BIOFILM PREVENTION BY THE TEST PRODUCT HUWA-SAN TR-50 06.2018.