FDA Expands Recall to 115 Hand Sanitizers with Toxic Ingredients

During this coronavirus pandemic, sales of hand sanitizers have soared as consumers tried to take health officials’ recommendations to frequently wash or sanitize their hands while keeping socially distant to keep from contracting the virus.

In addition to the original 9 hand sanitizers that we initially reported on being recalled, the FDA is now warning people to avoid 115 brands of hand sanitizers because they may contain methanol, a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin. Many were labeled as containing ethanol, which is safe, but when these hand sanitizers were actually tested, they tested positive for methanol instead, which is also known as wood alcohol.

One thing that some of these crafty companies are using in order to keep selling their bogus hand sanitizer and bypass the order by the FDA, is by listing that their brand is “FDA Approved.” That is 100% in every way. The FDA warns consumers to beware of any sanitizer marked as being labeled or stamped as “FDA-approved.” The Food & Drug Administration has not approved any hand sanitizer.

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See a full list of the flagged sanitizers at this FDA website here.

Many of these have been voluntarily recalled by the manufacturer, but some retailers and even online outlets are still trying to sell them. CBS News reported that some of the sanitizers on the FDA’s list were sold at Walmart-owed Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that consumers use alcohol-based hand sanitizers with at least 60 percent ethanol, if soap and water are not available.

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Other hand sanitizers were flagged because they were found to have

microbial contamination or inadequate levels of benzalkonium chloride, a chemical with antimicrobial properties. And some were listed for being purportedly made in facilities that also produced weaker benzalkonium chloride products, or in facilities that also produced methanol-contaminated products.

“After multiple uses, you can start diminishing the effectiveness of the hand sanitizer,” Dr. Matthew Heinz said in an interview with the New York Times. “You really do need to actually wash with soap and water for 20 seconds or more to kind of renew things. You really can’t just apply hand sanitizer 40 times throughout the day and think that you’re good.”