Warning issued for sanitizers containing toxic ingredient

Consumers should be on the lookout for hand sanitizers manufactured with methanol, a toxic alcohol, the Montana Health Alert Network stated in a press release on July 7.

According to the MHAN statement, most commercially available hand sanitizers contain either ethanol or isopropanol as active ingredients. Recently, however, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has noted an increase in the number of products testing positive for methanol contamination.

Methanol, also known as wood alcohol, can cause blindness and even death if absorbed through the skin or swallowed. Although all people using methanol tainted products are at risk, the FDA stated in a July 7 press release that young children who accidentally ingest these toxic hand sanitizers or adolescents and adults who drink them as an alcohol substitute are most susceptible.

The FDA warns consumers to be wary of hand sanitizers sold with false or misleading claims that they can prevent the spread of viruses such as the novel coronavirus or provide prolonged protection. Hand sanitizers labeled “FDA-approved” are also to be avoided since there are no hand sanitizers approved by the FDA.

A chart listing all the hand sanitizers the FDA has found to contain methanol can be found on the agency’s website: www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-methanol