FDA recalls ANOTHER batch of hand sanitizers: Gels contain toxin that can cause blindness

Another batch of hand sanitizers have been recalled after they were found to contain a poisonous substance which can cause blindness and seizures.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found undeclared methanol – a toxic kind of alcohol which can kill if ingested – in Adam’s Polishes hand gels.

It comes after almost two dozen hand sanitizer brands were recalled or banned in the US after they were found to contain the cancer-causing chemical benzene.

Methanol is a type of alcohol used to make plastics, paints, car parts and building materials.

People who accidentally drink the Adam’s Polishes hand sanitizers are at risk of a coma, seizures, permanent blindness, permanent damage to the central nervous system and death, the FDA said.

So far, the company has not received any reports of illness, but the agency has previously noted blindness, hospitalizations and death after methanol-contaminated products were ingested.

The Colorado-based company sold the hand sanitizers online to US customers between June 2020 and March this year.

The recalled product comes in 4oz, 8oz, and 16oz spray bottles, and one gallon bottles.

Adam’s Polishes are voluntarily recalling batch 133475, plus a further 19 batches as a precautionary measure.

Customers who own any of the recalled products should immediately throw them out, the FDA said.

The CDC said methanol can be absorbed into the body via inhalation, ingestion, skin contact, or eye contact.

Symptoms may not show until one to 72 hours after ingesting the deadly alcohol, it warned.

Ingestion of methanol can lead to amnesia, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, abnormal liver function and hallucinations.

Most methanol poisonings come about due to people drinking methanol-contaminated products.

People who have come into contact with the product should contact their physician or healthcare provider if they have experienced any symptoms, the FDA said.

In July 2020, the FDA said methanol is ‘not an acceptable ingredient for hand sanitizers and must not be used due to its toxic effects’.

It said it was aware of adults and children ingesting contaminated products leading to blindness, hospitalizations and death

Young children are most at risk, as well as adults who drink products containing methanol as an alcohol substitute.

Meanwhile, thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer made in China, South Korea and in America were pulled from shelves between April 2021 and September this year.

The gels and sprays were found to contain dangerous levels of benzene, a carcinogen at the very top of the Government’s most dangerous solvent list.

Hand sanitizers became a mainstay in homes, schools and offices during the pandemic, with sales shooting up by 600 per cent in 2020 alone.

And more than a million bottles of dry shampoo were recalled last month over benzene contamination fears.