FDA Warns Against Using Eskbiochem Hand Sanitizer – What You Need to Know

UPDATE JULY 28th: The FDA issued further warnings this month, with additional recalls for hand sanitizer. A July 27th warning detailed a recall for all 4e hand sanitizer products. These include products sold under brand names Blumen, Assured, and Modesa. Other brands of hand sanitizer have also been recalled, including for: Broncolin, DDI Multinacional, Grupo Insoma, Leiper’s Fork Distillery, Limpo Quimicos, Laboratorios Jaloma, Liqesa Exportacion, Tropicosmeticos, Soluciones Cosmeticas, Maquiladora Miniara, MXL Comercial, Mystic International, Real Clean Distribuciones, and Yara Elena De La Garza Perez Nieto. Most of these are companies manufacturing hand sanitizer in Mexico, but at least one is a US-based company.

What the FDA hand sanitizer warning says about methanol

The warning issued by the FDA states that all hand sanitizer products manufactured by Eskbiochem SA de CV (and now by 4e) in Mexico may contain methanol. This substance, also known as wood alcohol, can be toxic when ingested or absorbed through the skin.

Obviously, hand sanitizer is meant to be used on your skin, so if you have any of Eskbiochem’s products in your current coronavirus arsenal, you should dispose of them safely and replace your hand sanitizer with a safer option. Do not flush hand sanitizer or pour down the sink. Hand sanitizer should be disposed of as hazardous waste, which likely means a trip to your local recycling or garbage disposal depot.

Consider asking family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors to help spread the word about these dangerous hand sanitizers and collecting them to make disposal easier and more efficient (as well as more environmentally friendly than several individual trips to waste disposal).

How big is the problem?

Pretty big! The FDA tested samples of a range of Eskbiochem hand sanitizers and found that some contained no ethyl alcohol (the key ingredient in hand sanitizer) and instead contained 28-81% methanol. Methanol is highly toxic and should not be used in hand sanitizer or other products applied to the skin.

Although hand sanitizer shouldn’t be used on infants, younger children may have used one or more of these hand sanitizers and are at the most risk of methanol poisoning.

In addition, any adults who ingest hand sanitizer as an alcohol substitute are at serious risk of the toxic effects of methanol.

The FDA initially contacted Eskbiochem on June 17^th, asking the company to remove the products from the market. The company did not take action, prompting the public warning by the FDA.

In the latest recall, the company 4e voluntarily recalled their hand sanitizer products, issuing a company statement on July 24th, which was followed by the FDA’s publication of the alert to the public on July 27th.

Which Eskbiochem products are affected by the methanol recall?

In short, all of them. The FDA’s warning was for consumers to immediately stop using any hand sanitizer products from this company. The following products were identified as being produced by Eskbiochem:

• All-Clean Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-002-01)
• Esk Biochem Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-007-01)
• CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-008-04)
• Lavar 70 Gel Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-006-01)
• The Good Gel Antibacterial Gel Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-010-10)
• CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-005-03)
• CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 75% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-009-01)
• CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer 80% Alcohol (NDC: 74589-003-01)
• Saniderm Advanced Hand Sanitizer (NDC: 74589-001-01)

As you can see, there are some big-name brands in there, so chances are you, a family member, or even your workplace is currently using one of these products. The FDA’s warning found that Lavar Gel contained 81% methanol and no ethyl alcohol. CleanCare No Germ contained 28% methanol.

Which 4e products are affected by the methanol recall?

In short, all 4e hand sanitizers.

The FDA’s July 27th warning notes that the regulator has “seen a sharp increase in hand sanitizer products that are labeled to contain ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol) but that have tested positive for methanol contamination.”

The following 4e products have been recalled:

Current List of Hand Sanitizers with Methanol Recalled by the FDA

In addition to the EskBiochem and 4e hand sanitizers, others recalled as of July 28th include:

• bio aaa Advance Hand Sanitizer
• LumiSkin Advance Hand Sanitizer
• QualitaMed Hand Sanitizer
• Herbacil Antiseptic Hand Sanitizer 70%
• Earths Amenities Instant Unscented Hand Sanitizer with Aloe Vera Advanced
• Hand Sanitizer Agavespa Skincare
• Vidanos Easy Cleaning Rentals Hand Sanitizer Agavespa Skincare
• Hand sanitizer Gel Unscented 70% Alcohol
• Jaloma Antiseptic Hand Sanitizer Ethyl Alcohol 62% with Vitamin E
• Leiper’s Fork Distillery Bulk Disinfectant per 5 gallon and Leiper’s Fork Distillery 16 oz bottle
• Andy’s Best
• Andy’s
• NeoNatural
• Plus Advanced
• Mystic Shield Protection hand sanitizer
• Selecto Hand Sanitizer
• Shine and Clean Hand Sanitizer
• Optimus Instant Hand Sanitizer
• Resource Recovery and Trading Hand Sanitizer Disinfectant Gel 70% Ethyl Alcohol Rinse Free Hand Rub / Hand Sanitizer Disinfectant Gel 70% Ethyl Alcohol
• Optimus Lubricants Instant Hand Sanitizer
• Scent Theory hand sanitizers
• Cavalry Sanitizers
• ENLIVEN Hand Sanitizing Gel
• Lux Eoi Hand Sanitizing Gel
• Bersih Hand Sanitizer Gel Fragrance Free
• Antiseptic Alcohol 70% Topical Solution hand sanitizer
• Wet Look Janitorial and Gardening Corp. Hand Sanitizer Gel Alcohol 70%
• Britz Hand Sanitizer Ethyl Alcohol 70%
• Soflo Urban Team Parabola Hand Sanitizer
• Urbane Bath and Body Hand Sanitizer
• Cleaner Hand Sanitizer Rinse Free 70%
• Handzer Hand Sanitizer Rinse Free
• Kleanz Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer Advanced
• Be Safe Hand Sanitizer
• Wave Hand Sanitizer Gel
• DAESI Hand Sanitizer.

Do not use any products on this list of hand sanitizers with potential methanol contamination. Continue to check this list often. It is updated daily by the FDA.

Symptoms of methanol poisoning – What to do if you’ve used these products

If you have been exposed to one of these hand sanitizers containing methanol, seek immediate medical attention. Methanol poisoning can be reversed in some cases if caught early. This may involve the use of bicarbonate to reverse metabolic acidosis, alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) inhibition by either ethanol or fomepizole, and haemodialysis to enhance the elimination of the alcohols and their toxic metabolites (R).

Symptoms of methanol exposure include:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Headache
• Blurred vision
• Permanent blindness
• Seizures
• Coma
• Permanent nervous system damage
• Death

Immediate treatment is essential. Outcomes are far worse, with permanent injury or death more likely the longer methanol poisoning goes untreated.

What else you need to know

In addition to this latest warning about hand sanitizers from Eskbiochem, the FDA is concerned with false and misleading statements being made for some hand sanitizer products. Some manufacturers have made claims that hand sanitizers can provide 24-hour protection against viruses; no hand sanitizer does this.

Your best bet, as always, to stay safe and healthy is to regularly wash your hands and clean surfaces that are touched frequently. Soap and water is most effective and hand sanitizer is only recommended when soap and water is unavailable.

If you have experienced adverse effects when using a hand sanitizer product, consider using the FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program. This allows consumers, health care practitioners, and retailers to complete reports online or download a form and submit via fax at 1-800-FDA-0178.

Hopefully, you won’t need to make use of this system as you’ll have used ethyl alcohol to make your own hand sanitizer at home!