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Eskbiochem, apparently a Mexican based company, has apparently been making (and distributing?) hand sanitizers which have been discovered by the FDA to "possibly" contain methanol. I have yet to research and/or learn how this was determined.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/hand-sanitizers-by-eskbiochem-may-contain-methanol-fda-warns/ar-BB15QBoO?ocid=msedgntp


FDA advises to immediately stop using any of the 9 listed products and dispose of them as haz mats, which means that for many areas, they cannot be included in regular household trash.


In my area, there's a recycling center which accepts items (such as computers) which household trash companies can't or won't take, and it also has a haz mat section for the toxic materials. In another area, residents must take haz mat items to a special area where they can be treated appropriately.


If you're not sure how to dispose of haz mat items, contact either your community DPW, or your private trash hauler for information on how your community handles toxins.


I'm going to follow this topic; I'd like to know how this happened, where the potential toxic sanitizers may have been distributed (especially if they were sold directly to nursing homes or other medical facilities), if there are American distributors, and how the FDA discovered the methanol in the sanitizers.


Please warn your family and friends. Apparently the consequences of using something with methanol on your skin can range from illness to death.


If anyone has any information or insight into this situation, especially areas of distribution, including commercial (nursing homes) areas, please share it. I want to warn friends and family, but am still interested in how this happened.


Thank you.

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I posted wrongly on 23 June, and would like to follow it up. Methanol in hand cleaner is indeed a problem. Methanol is wood alcohol which doesn’t get taxed like drinking alcohol (ethanol). Methylated spirit here in OZ is highly regulated, and can contain no more than 10% methanol. The rest here is untaxed ethanol, and the methanol is added to provide an untaxed cheap spirit (used in old-fashioned primus stoves and as a specialist industrial solvent). It’s also coloured blue here, as another deterrent to drinking. DH was surprised to find from researching on the net that the legal limit for methanol in the US is 50%. The rogue suppliers may be adding even more. I was led astray by the FDA’s comment ‘may possibly contain methanol’ - this strength would be dangerous if applied regularly to the skin. Hobos have survived here for years while drinking methylated spirit illegally, before the side effects kicked in, and our local meths in hand cleaner used occasionally is not a problem - we made it to the official recipe! However the situation is very different for the USA. I’m sorry for the mistake. After extensive discussions with DH, I now know a lot more about industrial solvents!
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Yes, GA, I believe he was outed by his neighbors and all of his "stock" seized. Poetic justice in NYC Tabloid headline heaven!

Hope you are all doing well; things seems to be calming a bit here in NYC, although my daughter is dubious about sending my grandson back to school in September. She and her husband both have the luxury of being able to work from home and their are two sets of grandparents (my ex+his wife, me and my DH) to pinch hit if they need back up for keeping him at home/schooled. We are all so fortunate to be in the situation we are in.
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Barb, thanks.   My list of hand sanitizers to avoid grows longer. 

It's so unfortunate that some people take advantage of a sad situation like the need for sanitizers.   I remember reading when the pandemic first erupted that one man stocked up, collecting 17K containers/bottles.    If I remember correctly though, he came to the attention of authorities before he had a chance to begin scalping people who needed the sanitizers.

A photo showed stacks and stacks of bottles in his garage.   I doubt he had room for a vehicle.  It would have been humorous if it wasn't so disgusting.
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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/toxic-hand-sanitizers-recall-fda-methanol/

Further recalls.
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Apparently the problem came in when people DRANK it because it has "alcohol" normally. Five cases and I believe one person died. I don't know how many know the problem we have with "Listerine" and such in our country. You know how you always see cheap jugs of the stuff in Target and outlet stores, on the isle like potato chips? That's because bad alcoholics drink the stuff. It is a cheap drunk for them, high alcohol content. It does a lot of damage. Next time you see those huge cheap jugs of the stuff just remember that NO ONE has breath that bad.
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Hello GardenArtist,
Found the ingredient Methanol in my recommended mouthwash from my dental hygienist. I will go back to my old Crest Pro- Advanced mouth wash.
Thanks again for bringing this to our attention!.
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Thank you, GardenArtist.
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Thanks GardenArtist🌻🌺
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Yes, that is correct. The list came out 2 - 3 days ago.
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It's also worth keeping in mind that methanol attacks the optic nerve, and people who drink it (hopedly no one on this forum!) can become irreversibly blind. It's best to avoid any contact that could result in absorption.
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everything is polluted and can cause cancer these days including the air and water.
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Please read about alcohol poisoning. The effects can happen with any type of alcohol absorbed into the body in large amounts. Most hand sanitizers are isopropyl alcohol-based. Too much of that can cause the same problems. As a health care professional, I have used hand sanitizers when I can't use soap and water (the preferred method of cleaning your hands) without any ill effects. There used to be a practice of bathing the body with alcohol to bring down high temperatures but that usually ended up with the alcohol poisoning we are concerned about.

SO, throw out the methanol-based products AND don't worry too much about the limited exposure you may have had.
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https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-advises-consumers-not-use-hand-sanitizer-products-manufactured-eskbiochem

All manufactured in Mexico. GA, I had heard this on the news as well. Thanks for posting. Sounds like it was discovered by random sampling.
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Methanol is a constituent part of methylated spirit (and its close relative ethanol is a constituent part of drinking alcohol). We researched hand sanitiser and made our own from methylated spirit and aloe vera, to the recommended recipe. Alcohol of some type is a component of most effective hand sanitisers. I find this post really puzzling, as meths is not a problem in the normal uses of it. It’s of course not recommended for drinking, but it’s far far less dangerous than bleach or disinfectant, for example. Hobos who drink neat meths survive quite a long time, though it's not good for the brain!
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I never buy this stuff but grabbed a small bottle yesterday. Not on your list, but checked the ingredients. Seems OK but then I noticed it was fro China. Got to start looking at labels.
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