The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is urging consumers to stay away from at least 75 hand sanitizer products because
they may contain a toxic chemical.
In a Friday announcement, the federal agency included additional hand sanitizers to its list of those that contain methanol, “a substance that
can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested and can be life-threatening when ingested.” Methanol is also
sometimes referred to as wood alcohol, per the FDA.
"Per sanitizers, it shows that the FDA is visibly doing its job and protecting the public," says Peter Pitts, former FDA Associate Commissioner and current President of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest