84% of Mexican hand sanitizers are toxic or defective; FDA issues drastic alert



[ad_1]

A gloved hand distributes glue into an open bare hand.
Enlarge / Hand sanitizer applied to a person’s hand.

The United States Food and Drug Administration issued an unprecedented alert on Monday in an attempt to block the import of toxic hand sanitizers from Mexico, which have flooded the market amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last June, the regulatory agency began issuing alerts and warnings to consumers about dangerous and counterfeit hand sanitizers, many of which were made in Mexico. The FDA has since issued alerts on 226 products. An FDA survey conducted between April and December found that 84% of products tested from Mexico did not comply with FDA regulations.

Many of the affected products are labeled as containing safe alcohols, but actually contain methanol, an extremely toxic form of alcohol associated with poorly distilled liquors that can cause blindness and even death. The FDA discovered other products that contained another toxic ingredient, 1-propanol, while others simply contained insufficient amounts of alcohols safe for sanitation. (Alcohols safe for hand sanitizers include ethanol, aka ethyl alcohol, in concentrations greater than 60% or isopropyl alcohol in concentrations greater than 70%).

In addition to spotting dangerous products, the agency also said it had started receiving reports of states of methanol poisoning from disinfectants, which in some cases resulted in blindness, cardiac effects, effects. on the central nervous system, hospitalizations and deaths in adults and children. The agency notes that methanol exposures can cause nausea, vomiting, headaches, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent nervous system damage or death. While the products pose risks to anyone who uses disinfectants properly – they can be absorbed through the skin – the products are more dangerous for young children who may drink them out of curiosity or for adults who drink them as an alcohol substitute.

The import alert launched on Monday will allow the agency to detain any suspicious incoming product at the border so the regulatory agency can give them a more thorough security review. In its announcement of the alert, the FDA noted that this was the first time in the agency’s history that it had issued a nationwide import alert for any category of pharmaceutical product.

“The use of hand sanitizers by consumers has increased dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic … and the availability of low-quality products containing dangerous and unacceptable ingredients will not be tolerated,” said Judy McMeekin, Associate Commissioner to FDA Regulatory Affairs, in the announcement.

Below is a sample of some of the offending products and the full list is available here. If you find that you have any of the products on the list, stop using them immediately. If you are concerned about possible toxic exposure, contact your poison control center and / or seek immediate medical treatment. No toxic hand sanitizer should be rinsed or dumped; instead, they should be disposed of in an appropriate hazardous waste container.

[ad_2]

Source link