[ad_1]
Crystal Cox / Business Insider
- The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking producers of hand sanitizers to make it taste bitter so people don’t eat it.
- More than 1,500 US companies have stepped up to produce hand sanitizer during the pandemic.
- Calls to the National Poison Data System last month related to hand sanitizer increased 79% compared to March 2019.
- Visit the Business Insider SA home page for more stories.
Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received a report that a distiller was consuming 13-year-old hand sanitizer packaged in a bottle of liquor.
The alcohol was not denatured, so it tasted like regular liquor, according to the FDA.
Now the agency is asking American companies to make sure their disinfectants taste unpleasant.
“It is important that the hand sanitizer is manufactured in a way that makes it unpleasant for people, especially young children, and that it is properly labeled to discourage accidental or intentional ingestion,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn it’s a statement.
Companies across the country, many of them distilleries, have shifted gears to meet demand for hand sanitizer during the coronavirus pandemic, including manufacturers of Klipdrift and the Spier winery in South Africa.
In the United States, more than 1,500 new companies have registered with the FDA to produce the cleaner in recent months.
See also | The SA government simply doubled what it is willing to pay for the disinfectant, but body bags will be cheaper
In response to the FDA’s more flexible temporary rules aimed at meeting the demand for disinfectants, US industry leaders and members of Congress have contacted the FDA about the need for companies to use denatured alcohol for their disinfectants. .
Hand sanitizer helps fight coronavirus, but young children have been taking it
The number of calls made to the United States National Poison Data System related to hand sanitizer last month increased 79% compared to March 2019, according to the statement. Most of the calls involved involuntary exposures in children 5 years and younger.
According to the FDA, eating even a small amount of hand sanitizer can be fatal for young children.
“Adding denaturants to alcohol makes the product more bitter and less appealing to ingest, particularly for young children,” the FDA said in a statement. “While the agency understands the economic and commercial reasons behind waiving this step in the manufacturing process, this approach undermines the agency’s mission to help ensure the safety of FDA-regulated products for consumer use, which is the FDA’s highest priority. “
In addition to how the disinfectant is made, the agency also reminds companies to make sure their bottles comply with regulations.
The agency also found that some companies make false claims about what the cleaner can do.
He sent a warning letter to Prefense LLC for selling his product with claims that it could protect users from germs “with just one application per day.”
The company’s website also states that Prefense can “protect you from pathogens for up to 24 hours or for 10 hand washes,” according to the FDA.
“The FDA is not aware of any evidence that hand sanitizers can protect consumers for 24 hours or after multiple hand washes,” the statement said. “These types of claims can put consumers at risk by creating a false sense of security and causing infrequent hand washing or disinfection.”
Receive a daily update on your cell phone with all our latest news: click here.
Get the best of our site by email daily: Click here.
Also from Business Insider South Africa:
[ad_2]
