Health Canada says it is reviewing how UV wands and devices are able to find their way onto store shelves and into the hands of Canadian consumers after a CBC Marketplace investigation found there is just one consumer UV device that is properly cleared for sale in this country. 

In addition to not being properly approved for sale in Canada, Marketplace has also learned the majority of those UV wands and devices on the market are likely not living up to what they claim to do, and can even pose potential harm to users.

Consumer UV wands and devices that claim to reduce microorganisms on surfaces or objects but don't claim to mitigate or prevent disease must be properly registered under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA) prior to manufacturing, importation, distribution or use in Canada. 

To date, Health Canada said it has approved only one UV product for registration under the PCPA: a Dyson humidifier. 

In an email to Marketplace, Health Canada was clear that, "No other product under any regulations has been authorized to use claims regarding UV light to disinfect, sterilize or decontaminate products or surfaces."

And yet ads for UV wands and devices claiming to rid a surface or object of harmful bacteria and viruses in seconds have flooded the marketplace since the coronavirus pandemic first took hold last March. Prices for consumer products range from $20 to a few hundred dollars.

Marketplace was able to purchase a number of devices from a variety of brick and mortar and online retailers. According to the PCPA, the act of selling, distributing, importing, manufacturing or even use of a UV wand that is not properly registered under the PCPA is not permitted in Canada. 

Those found guilty of the above can face a maximum fine of up to $500,000 or three years imprisonment.

Health Canada said devices that are approved for registration under the PCPA will be clearly marked with a Pest Control Product (PCP) number on the packaging and the words, "Pest Control Products Act" or "P.C.P. Act." 

None of the devices Marketplace purchased featured these markings, including a Homedics UV sanitizer bag. In an email, the company told Marketplace it believed its product to be exempt from registration under the PCPA. 

Health Canada has since confirmed to Marketplace the product, which makes clear claims about killing 99.9 per cent of bacteria and viruses on objects you place inside, is subject to the PCPA. 

Health Canada said it is reviewing the information Marketplace presented and will be following up with the company. If non-compliance is confirmed, the regulator said it will take action. 

Homedics maintains its product is exempt from registration and will follow up with the regulator directly. The company also told Marketplace, "We are not an organization that seeks to avoid scrutiny, and in fact pride ourselves on compliance."