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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning against a Mexican-made hand sanitizer gel that it said is dangerous because it contains large amounts of methanol.
The FDA said methanol “can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested,” and recommended consumers dispose of nine brands of gel sanitizers made by Mexican company Eskbiochem SA de CV.
The FDA said one of the brands contained 81% methanol and no ethyl alcohol, which is the drinkable kind.
Late last week the FDA said it had contacted Eskbiochem “to recommend the company remove its hand sanitizer products from the market due to the risks associated with methanol poisoning,” but the company hadn’t done so.
The brands include All-Clean Hand Sanitizer, CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer, The Good Gel Antibacterial Gel Hand Sanitizer, and CleanCare NoGerm Advanced Hand Sanitizer.
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“Although all persons using these products on their hands are at risk,” the FDA said young children who accidentally ingest it or adults who drink it as an ethyl alcohol substitute are also at risk.
Methanol is a poisonous alcohol. When ingested, it causes organ and brain damage and can be fatal, and its symptoms include chest pain, nausea, hyperventilation, blindness, and even coma.
In recent months, Mexico has registered over a hundred deaths due to methanol poisoning. As part of COVID-19 lockdowns, many towns banned liquor sales, and people turned to cheap or illegal liquors.
Alexander Escamillo, a representative for Eskbiochem, said that an outsider who had access to the company registered the product before the FDA, registered the labels, and sent the hand sanitizers without their consent.
Escamillo added that the company would never maliciously “send a toxic chemical.”
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