The Democratic Alliance welcomes that the National Consumer Commission (NCC) has taken up our request for an investigation into chemically tainted sanitary products.

The women and girls of South Africa who use these products deserve absolute certainty that they are safe, and will not lead to long-term disease or medical conditions.

Last Friday, the DA issued a public call for the National Consumer Commission to launch this investigation, and four days later the NCC responded in the affirmative. We thank the NCC for this progressive step.

The DA expects that this investigation will include the NCC compelling the manufacturers of suspected sanitary products to conduct laboratory testing by independent labs, and to report these findings to the NCC.

The DA will insist that these tests are thorough and independent.

Ultimately, the National Consumer Commission may need to appoint its own forensic investigators to undertake laboratory tests, and the DA will not relent until a full, transparent, and independent process is undertaken.

Safe sanitary products are simply too important to women and girls for this risk to remain unresolved.