SAN ANTONIO – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has expanded its list of hand sanitizer products that have been found to potentially be contaminated with methanol.
The FDA is advising consumers not to use these products as methanol, used in fuel, solvents and antifreeze, is poisonous to humans.
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Data provided by the FDA lists 114 hand sanitizer products that are considered unsafe due to methanol contamination or because they contain “concerningly low levels of ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol, which are active ingredients in hand sanitizer products.”
“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 website.
One of the listed products, Keep It Clean hand sanitizer, was widely distributed by Walmart.
In addition to Walmart, Costco and other national chains have issued recalls.
KSAT has reached out to H-E-B to see if any of the recalled products were sold at the Texas grocery chain.
FDA officials said they were aware of reports of adverse events associated with the listed hand sanitizer products including adults and children who ingested products contaminated with methanol that led to blindness, hospitalizations and death. The investigation by the FDA into the use of methanol in hand sanitizers is ongoing.
The list of products that may contain methanol can be found in the spreadsheet below or on the FDA website:
Updated Hand Sanitizer List From FDA by Mary Claire Patton on Scribd
The spreadsheet only lists the company and associated products, the full details about the status of the product can be found on FDA.gov.
FDA officials encourage “health care professionals, consumers and patients to report adverse events or quality problems experienced with the use of hand sanitizers to FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program.”
The recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends consumers use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent ethanol.
It is still recommended to wash your hands often for at least 20 seconds and especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose.
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