Hand Sanitizer Recall Impacts Over 75 Brands

The FDA recently expanded their hand sanitizer recall to include over 75 other brands due to concerns about hand sanitizer safety.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), products included in the hand sanitizer recall are contaminated with methanol – a toxic and potentially lethal substance. The agency has reportedly seen a sharp increase of contaminated ethanol hand sanitizer products during the coronavirus pandemic.

Methanol & Hand Sanitizer Safety

Most alcohol-based hand sanitizers contain ethyl alcohol, also known as ethanol. This alcohol safely kills bacteria and viruses on hands when the hand sanitizer contains at least 60 percent ethanol. Hand sanitizer has become especially popular during the coronavirus pandemic, with health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endorsing high-alcohol hand sanitizers as suitable for hand hygiene.

While ethanol is a safe alcohol used in hand sanitizer, methanol or wood alcohol is not safe when found in hand sanitizer. Methanol can be toxic when absorbed through the skin and can even be life threatening when ingested.

According to the FDA, methanol exposure can cause a variety of issues including nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death.

The FDA notes that all people who use methanol-contaminated hand sanitizer are at risk for toxicity, although ingesting these products puts people at a higher risk. This includes young children who accidentally drink the products along with individuals who drink hand sanitizer as an alcohol substitute.

FDA Hand Sanitizer Recall

Due to the hand sanitizer safety risks of methanol contaminated products, the FDA recommends that consumers do not use the affected products and absolutely do not drink hand sanitizer. The agency first announced the hand sanitizer recall issue in June, but has since expanded the recall to include at least 77 products.

More recent additions to the hand sanitizer recall include the following:

• Liqesa Exportacion Optimus Lubricants Instant Hand Sanitizer
• Scent Theory ‘Keep It Clean’ Anti-Bacterial Hand Sanitizer
• MXL Comercial / Resource Recovery & Trading Hand Sanitizer Disinfectant Gel 70% Ethyl Alcohol
• Eskbiochem 361 All Clean Hand Sanitizer, Moisturizer and Disinfectant
• Saniderm Advanced Hand Sanitizer

On the FDA website, consumers can find a full list of products which have been tested and found to contain methanol. Numerous brands are included in the hand sanitizer recall database. Consumers who are concerned about their hand sanitizer products can search the list to see if their purchases are affected.

If consumers are concerned about their products being included in the hand sanitizer recall, the FDA notes that diligent hand washing practices can be just as or even more effective than hand sanitizer use. Proper hand washing includes washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

However, soap and water are not always available – especially when on the go – in which case the CDC recommends the use of hand sanitizer products.

“All Americans should practice good hand hygiene, which includes using alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not readily available. Unfortunately, there are some companies taking advantage of the increased usage of hand sanitizer during the coronavirus pandemic and putting lives at risk by selling products with dangerous and unacceptable ingredients. Consumers and health care providers should not use methanol-containing hand sanitizers,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn in a hand sanitizer recall press release.

“The FDA remains committed to working with manufacturers, compounders, state boards of pharmacy and the public to increase the safe supply of alcohol-based hand sanitizers. This includes staying vigilant and continuing to take action when quality issues with hand sanitizers arise.”

The agency is reportedly concerned with the following quality issues:

• Dangers of drinking hand sanitizer – even when it is not contaminated with methanol.
• Hand sanitizers which don’t contain a sufficient amount of ethanol or isopropyl alcohol.
• Products advertised with misleading claims including the ability to prevent the spread of viruses such as COVID-19 or provide prolonged (24 hour) protection.
• Deceiving packaging which makes products appear like drinks, candy, or liquor bottles – all packaging which could encourage accidental or intentional ingestion.
• Products labeled with poisonous ingredients such as methanol.

Consumers have also taken issue with some of these concerns, taking matters into their own hands by filing hand sanitizer safety lawsuits against manufacturers. For example, early into the coronavirus pandemic, consumers filed class action lawsuits against Purell and Germ-X challenging claims that the hand sanitizers are capable of preventing the flu virus and other serious diseases.

Have you purchased any of the recalled hand sanitizers? Let us know in the comment section below.

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