The Food and Drug Administration has expanded its list of toxic hand sanitizers to 75 products that it says contain methanol, a toxic substance that could ultimately lead to death if absorbed through the skin or ingested and therefore it is not safe for human use.
The warning includes some products that claim to have ethanol or ethyl alcohol, which is safe to use but tests positive for methanol.
The agency’s initial list of harmful hand sanitizers began with a batch of nine alcohol-based cleaners manufactured by Eskbiochem SA de CV in Mexico that it said contained wood methanol.
Since then, however, the list has skyrocketed amid a continuing search for disinfectants containing toxic substances.
The FDA says it is concerned about “false and misleading statements about hand sanitizers,” including those that suggest the products may provide long-term protection, “like 24 hours” against COVID-19, as there is no basis for such statements.
Here is a link to the list of the 75 products that the FDA says it has so far identified in its investigation of hand sanitizer products that are “contaminated with methanol that has led to recent adverse events such as blindness, hospitalizations, and death”:
The following are some of the marks that the FDA has deemed harmful.
- Blumen Clear Advanced Hand Sanitizer with 70% Alcohol
- Blumen Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer Clear Ethyl Alcohol 70%
- BLUMEN Clear Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer
- KLAR AND DANVER Instant Hand Sanitizer (labeled with Greenbrier International Inc.)
- MODESA Instant hand sanitizer Moisturizers and vitamin E
- BLUMEN Advanced Hand Sanitizer
- BLUMEN Aloe Advanced Hand Sanitizer
- BLUMEN Advanced Lavender Instant Hand Sanitizer
- BLUMEN Clear LEAR Advanced Hand Sanitizer
- BLUEMEN Clear Advanced Hand Sanitizer
- Honeykeeper hand sanitizer
- BLUMEN Clear Advanced Hand Sanitizer
- BLUMEN Clear Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer
- BLUMEN Clear Aloe Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer
- BLUMEN Clear Advanced Lavender Instant Hand Sanitizer
- BLUMEN Aloe Advanced hand sanitizer with 70 alcohol
- Blumen Advanced Hand Sanitizer Lavender, with 70% alcohol
- Blumen Advanced Hand Sanitizer Aloe, with 70% alcohol
- Blumen antibacterial fresh citrus hand sanitizer
- Blumen Fresh Citrus Hand Sanitizer
- KLAR and DANVER instant hand sanitizer
- Hello Kitty by Sanrio Hand sanitizer
- Insured instant hand sanitizer (vitamin E and aloe)
- Insured instant hand sanitizer (aloe and moisturizers)
- Assured – Instant Hand Sanitizer, Vitamin E & Aloe
- Assured – Instant Hand Sanitizer, Aloe & Moisturizers
- BLUMEN Instant Hand Sanitizer Fragrance Free
- BLUMEN Aloe Vera Instant Hand Sanitizer
- Aloe insured
- Bio aaa advanced hand sanitizer
- LumiSkin Advance Hand Sanitizer 4 oz
- LumiSkin Advance Hand Sanitizer 16 oz
- QualitaMed hand sanitizer
- Earths Amenities Instant Unscented Hand Sanitizer with Aloe Vera Advanced
- Agavespa Skincare hand sanitizer
- Vidanos Easy Cleaning Rentals Agavespa Skincare Hand Sanitizer
- Totally clean hand sanitizer
- Esk Biochem hand sanitizer
- Wash 70 sanitizing hand gel
- Good antibacterial hand sanitizer gel
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Sanitizer for hands 75% alcohol
- CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol
- Saniderm Advanced Hand Sanitizer
- 70% alcohol fragrance-free hand sanitizing gel
- Andy is the best
- Andy
- Gelclor
- NeoNatural
- Plus advanced
- Optimus Lubricants Instant Hand Sanitizer
- Shine and Clean Hand Sanitizer
- Selecto hand sanitizer
- Mystic Shield Protection hand sanitizer
- Bersih Hand Sanitizer Gel unscented
- Antiseptic alcohol 70% Topical disinfectant solution for hands
- Hand sanitizer (labeled with Wet Look Janitorial and Gardening Corp.)
- Britz Hand sanitizer Ethyl alcohol 70%
- DAESI hand sanitizer
“Consumers who have been exposed to methanol-containing hand sanitizers should seek immediate treatment, which is critical to the possible reversal of the toxic effects of methanol poisoning,” the FDA wrote June 19.
Read: The FDA lists 59 hand sanitizers that can be toxic if absorbed by the body after expanding the initial list.
“Substantial exposure to methanol can cause nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent nervous system damage, or death,” the report said. The agency said the risk of possible ingestion was primarily focused on young children or teens who could use alcohol-based disinfectants as substitutes for grain alcohol.
Meanwhile, the demand for hand sanitizer worldwide has increased as the coronavirus has spread, infecting some 13 million people, with 3.3 million in the U.S. alone, according to data compiled by Johns University. Hopkins.
In March, several retailers, including Costco Wholesale Corp. COST,
BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. BJ,
and Kroger Co. KR,
reported an increase in sales of hand cleaning products and other disinfecting goods. In the week ending April 25, Nielsen said the hand sanitizer experienced the highest weekly-to-week sales growth at the store.
People have even tried making their own hand sanitizer. However, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that washing hands with soap and water is the best way to kill the new strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Also, the hand sanitizer requires at least 60% alcohol. Alcohol dissolves the lipid membrane and disrupts other supramolecular interactions in viruses, but a fairly high concentration of alcohol is required to rapidly dissolve the virus. Vodka or whiskey, usually 40% ethanol, will not dissolve the virus as quickly. “In general, alcohol is not as good as soap at this task,” wrote Palli Thordarson, a professor at the University of South Wales School of Chemistry, Sydney, in a column for MarketWatch in April.
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