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

The Food and Drug Administration issued an unprecedented warning on Monday to try to block the import of toxic disinfectants into Mexico’s hands, 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. Since then, the FDA has issued alerts for 226 products. An FDA survey conducted between April and December found that 84 percent of the products tested in Mexico did not comply with FDA regulations.

Many of the worrisome products are labeled as containing safe alcohols, but actually contained methanol, an extremely poisonous form of alcohol associated with incorrectly distilled drinks that can cause blindness and even death. The FDA found some other products containing another toxic ingredient, 1-propanol, while others simply contained insufficient amounts of safe sanitation alcohols. (Safe alcohols for hand sanitizers include ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol, in concentrations above 60 percent or isopropyl alcohol in concentrations above 70 percent).

In addition to detecting dangerous products, the agency also said it has begun to receive reports of states of methanol poisoning by disinfectants, which in some cases lead to blindness, cardiac effects, central nervous system effects, hospitalizations and deaths in adults and children. The agency notes that methanol exposures can cause nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system 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 drink them out of curiosity or for adults who drink them as alcohol substitutes.

The import alert issued on Monday will allow the agency to stop any suspicious products that cross the border so that the regulatory agency can give them a more thorough security review. In its announcement of the alert, the FDA noted that it marks the first time in the history of the agency that has issued a national import alert for any category of drug.

“Consumer use of hand sanitizers increased significantly during the coronavirus pandemic … and the availability of low quality products with dangerous and unacceptable ingredients will not be tolerated,” said Judy McMeekin, FDA associate commissioner for affairs regulations, in the announcement.

Below is a sample of some of the offending products and the full list can be found here. If you discover that you have any of the products on the list, stop using them immediately. If you have any questions about possible toxic exposure, contact the poison control center and / or seek immediate medical treatment. Any toxic hand sanitizers should not be washed or thrown down the drain; instead, they must be disposed of in an appropriate hazardous waste container.