FDA’s list of hand sanitizers to avoid grows again with more than 100 identified that may contain methanol

The Food and Drug Administration’s list of hand sanitizers to avoid because they may contain methanol continues to grow.

As of Saturday, the FDA’s “do-not-use list of dangerous hand sanitizer products” now includes 101 varieties of hand sanitizer that should be avoided – some that have already been recalled and other products being recommended for recalls – as they may contain methanol, a potentially fatal ingredient. 

Methanol is a toxic substance when absorbed through skin or ingested.

“FDA continues to find issues with certain hand sanitizer products. FDA test results show certain hand sanitizers have concerningly low levels of ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol, which are active ingredients in hand sanitizer products,” the federal agency said. “The agency urges consumers not to use these subpotent products and has expanded its list to include subpotent hand sanitizers, in addition to hand sanitizers that are or may be contaminated with methanol.”

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In a warning July 27, the FDA says it is “urging 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.”

The agency says that in most cases, methanol does not appear on the product label but that it is “not an acceptable ingredient in any drug, including hand sanitizer, even if methanol is listed as an ingredient on the product label.”

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