The Food and Drug Administration has added dozens of hand sanitizers to a growing list of products that tested positive for methanol contamination.
Methanol, sometimes called wood alcohol, is not a suitable ingredient for hand sanitizers and can prove "toxic" when absorbed through the skin or ingested, according to the FDA.
There are now 59 varieties of hand sanitizers in the FDA's updated list of toxic products. According to the agency's July 10 update, some of the products have already been recalled and others are being recommended for recalls.
All of the sanitizers flagged by the FDA appear to have been produced in Mexico.
The agency warned it has seen a sharp increase in the number of hand sanitizer products that are labeled to contain ethanol, but have tested positive for methanol. It also advised consumers to be vigilant about products that falsely claim to prevent the spread of the coronavirus or are marked as "FDA-approved," since there are no hand sanitizers approved by FDA.
In June, the FDA warned consumers against using nine hand sanitizer products due to the potential presence of methanol. Two weeks later, the agency added five more brands that tested positive for the toxic substance.
The agency warns that "substantial methanol exposure" can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death.
Recall Alert
Young children who accidentally ingest methanol and older people who may attempt to drink it as an alcohol substitute are most at risk of poisoning.
The FDA said it is aware of cases of adults and children who have ingested hand sanitizer products contaminated with methanol, which has led to blindness, hospitalizations and death.
FDA Advises Consumers to Avoid These Hand Sanitizer Products:
For more information, including product codes and recall status, visit the FDA website.
- 4E Global's Blumen Clear Advanced Hand Sanitizer with 70% Alcohol
- 4E Global's Blumen Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer Clear Ethyl Alcohol 70%
- 4E Global's BLUMEN Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer Clear
- 4E Global's KLAR AND DANVER Instant Hand Sanitizer (labeled with Greenbrier International Inc.)
- 4E Global's MODESA Instant Hand Sanitizer Moisturizers and Vitamin E
- 4E Global's BLUMEN Advanced Hand Sanitizer
- 4E Global's BLUMEN Advanced Hand Sanitizer Aloe
- 4E Global's BLUMEN Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer Lavender
- 4E Global's BLUMEN Clear LEAR Advanced Hand Sanitizer
- 4E Global's BLUEMEN Clear Advanced Hand Sanitizer
- 4E Global's The Honeykeeper Hand Sanitizer
- 4E Global's BLUMEN Advanced Hand Sanitizer Clear
- 4E Global's BLUMEN Clear Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer
- 4E Global's BLUMEN Clear Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer Aloe
- 4E Global's BLUMEN Clear Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer Lavender
- 4E Global's BLUMEN Aloe Advanced Hand Sanitizer, with 70 Alcohol
- 4E Global's Blumen Advanced Hand Sanitizer Lavender, with 70% alcohol
- 4E Global's Blumen Advanced Hand Sanitizer Aloe, with 70% alcohol
- 4E Global's Blumen Antibacterial Fresh Citrus Hand Sanitizer
- 4E Global's Blumen Hand Sanitizer Fresh Citrus
- 4E Global's KLAR and DANVER INSTANT HAND SANTIZER
- 4E Global's Hello Kitty by Sanrio Hand Sanitizer
- 4E Global's Assured Instant Hand Sanitizer (Vitamin E and Aloe)
- 4E Global's Assured Instant Hand Sanitizer (Aloe and Moisturizers)
- 4E Global's Assured Instant Hand Sanitizer Vitamin E and Aloe
- 4E Global's Assured Instant Hand Sanitizer Aloe and Moisturizers
- 4E Global's BLUMEN Instant Hand Sanitizer Fragrance Free
- 4E Global's BLUMEN Instant Hand Sanitizer Aloe Vera
- 4E Global's Assured Aloe
- AAA Cosmetica's bio aaa Advance Hand Sanitizer
- AAA Cosmetica's LumiSkin Advance Hand Sanitizer 4 oz
- AAA Cosmetica's LumiSkin Advance Hand Sanitizer 16 oz
- AAA Cosmetica's QualitaMed Hand Sanitizer
- DDI Multinacional's Earths Amenities Instant Unscented Hand Sanitizer with Aloe Vera Advanced
- DDI Multinacional's Hand Sanitizer Agavespa Skincare
- DDI Multinacional's Vidanos Easy Cleaning Rentals Hand Sanitizer Agavespa Skincare
- Eskbiochem's All-Clean Hand Sanitizer
- Eskbiochem's Esk Biochem Hand Sanitizer
- Eskbiochem's Lavar 70 Gel Hand Sanitizer
- Eskbiochem's The Good Gel Antibacterial Gel Hand Sanitizer
- Eskbiochem's CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol
- Eskbiochem's CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol
- Eskbiochem's CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol
- Eskbiochem's Saniderm Advanced Hand Sanitizer
- Grupo Insoma's Hand sanitizer Gel Unscented 70% Alcohol
- Limpo Quimicos' Andy’s Best
- Limpo Quimicos' Andy’s
- Limpo Quimicos' Gelclor
- Limpo Quimicos' NeoNatural
- Limpo Quimicos' Plus Advanced
- Liqesa Exportacion or Liq-E-S.A.'s Optimus Lubricants Instant Hand Sanitizer
- Maquiladora Miniara's Shine and Clean Hand Sanitizer
- Maquiladora Miniara's Selecto Hand Sanitizer
- Mystic International's Mystic Shield Protection hand sanitizer
- Soluciones Cosmeticas’ Bersih Hand Sanitizer Gel Fragrance Free
- Soluciones Cosmeticas’ Antiseptic Alcohol 70% Topical Solution hand sanitizer
- Soluciones Cosmeticas’ Hand sanitizer (labeled with Wet Look Janitorial and Gardening Corp.)
- Tropicosmeticos' Britz Hand Sanitizer Ethyl Alcohol 70%
- Yara Elena De La Garza Perez Nieto's DAESI hand sanitizer
Federal health agencies recommend hand washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If it's not possible to wash your hands, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent ethanol.
