Hand sanitizers made with alcohol are being found in containers disguised as everyday food and drinks, and some of the products are even flavored to taste sweet, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers this week.
“The agency has discovered that some hand sanitizers are being packaged in beer cans, children’s food pouches, water bottles, juice bottles and vodka bottles,” a news release from the agency stated, according to CNN. “Additionally, the FDA has found hand sanitizers that contain food flavors, such as chocolate or raspberry.”
Recently, one person unwittingly drank hand sanitizer that was packaged as drinking water, the FDA reported. Elsewhere, hand sanitizers were being marketed with children’s imagery which made them look like snacks, according to CNN.
“I am increasingly concerned about hand sanitizer being packaged to appear to be consumable products, such as baby food or beverages. These products could confuse consumers into accidentally ingesting a potentially deadly product. It’s dangerous to add scents with food flavors to hand sanitizers which children could think smells like food, eat and get alcohol poisoning,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn wrote in the release.
Hahn said manufacturers should take more care and use more unequivocal packaging to protect consumers from accidental poisonings, noting that this scenario could be toxic or worse deadly for a young child.
The agency plans to keep an eye on store shelves and take action where needed, Hahn said.
Late last month the Food and Drug Administration added a dozen more gel hand sanitizers to a growing list of potentially deadly products that tested positive for methanol contamination.
Most if not all of the brands were produced in Mexico, and some have reportedly been sold at Walmart and Target. Recent tests found dangerous methanol levels in 87 products that were mislabeled as ethanol, according to the FDA.
A complete list of the toxic products can be found on the FDA website.
Methanol, or wood alcohol, is poisonous and not an acceptable ingredient for hand sanitizers and can be deadly if ingested or absorbed through the skin. The chemical is used to create fuels and antifreeze.
“Substantial methanol exposure can result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death,” according to the FDA.
Some of the products on the FDA’s list have already been recalled, while others are being recommended for recalls.
The agency is working with manufacturers and distributors to ensure the removal of all the products from American store shelves.
The FDA said it was aware of adults and children recently ingesting the contaminated sanitizers, which has led to hospitalizations.
The agency reportedly sent a recent warning letter to one product manufacturer “regarding the distribution of products labeled as manufactured at its facilities with undeclared methanol, misleading claims – including incorrectly stating that FDA approved these products — and improper manufacturing practices,” according to news reports.
Demand for hand sanitizer increased dramatically amid the coronavirus pandemic and led to a spike in counterfeit products as one of the most ubiquitously available toiletries quickly vanished from stores in the early days of the outbreak. Many households were forced to buy 80 proof vodka as a substitute.
The FDA first warned consumers in early June about nine hand sanitizer products to avoid due to the possible presence of methanol. More and more brands have been added to the list since.
The agency also advised consumers not to flush or pour the products down the drain, but to dispose of them in appropriate hazardous waste containers.
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