FDA Alert: Food and Drug Administration Issues a More Serious Warning About Methanol in Hand Sanitizers
The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a second, more serious warning about hand sanitizers that have been made with deadly methanol. Their first warning came on July 2, when they said they had “seen a sharp increase in hand sanitizer products that are labeled to contain ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol) but that have tested positive for methanol contamination.”
The latest warning, issued July 27, cautions both the public and health care professionals to avoid using hand sanitizers that they have identified as being contaminated with deadly methanol (wood alcohol). In addition to the warning, they have “taken additional action to help prevent certain hand sanitizers from entering the United States by placing them on an import alert.” The FDA is working in concert hand sanitizer manufacturers to recall the tainted products and is asking retailers to remove the products from brick-and-mortar store shelves as well as online marketplaces.
According to the FDA, poison control centers and state departments of public health have seen an uptick of reports of methanol poisonings due to the contaminated hand sanitizers.
The FDA has provided a regularly updated list of all of the brands and lot numbers of hand sanitizers that have been recalled due to methanol contamination, however they caution “consumers not to use any hand sanitizer products from the particular manufacturers on the list even if the product or particular lot number are not listed since some manufacturers are recalling only certain – but not all – of their hand sanitizer products. Manufacturers’ failure to immediately recall all potentially affected products is placing consumers in danger of methanol poisoning.”
The most recent recall notice on methanol-laced hand sanitizers follows.
Real Clean Distribuciones SA de CV Issues Voluntary Nationwide Recall of Four Hand Sanitizer Due to Potential Presence of Undeclared Methanol (Wood Alcohol)
This is a partial reprint of an FDA Alert.
July 24, 2020
Company Contact Information
Consumers:
Stericycle
Phone: 866-512-4073
Email Realclean4107@stericycle.com
Company Announcement
La Loma, Tlalnepantla, Mexico, Real Clean Distribuciones SA de CV is voluntarily recalling all lots it manufactured within expiry of the following brand names of hand sanitizers:
Born Basic ANTI-BAC HAND SANITIZER,
Scent Theory KEEP CLEAN Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer,
Scent Theory KEEP IT CLEAN Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer, and
Lux Eoi Hand Sanitizing Gel to the consumer level.
The products are being recalled due to the potential presence of methanol (wood alcohol).
Risk Statement: Substantial methanol exposure could result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death. Although all persons using these products on their hands are at risk, young children who accidentally ingest these products and adolescents and adults who drink these products as an alcohol (ethanol) substitute, are most at risk for methanol poisoning. To date, Real Clean Distribuciones SA de CV has not received reports of adverse events related to this recall.
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