FDA warns consumers about hand sanitizer packaged in food and drink containers

FDA issued a warning Thursday about the risks to consumers of alcohol-based hand sanitizers that are packaged in containers that may appear as food or drinks. According to FDA, some hand sanitizers come in packaging that resembles food or drinks—such as beer cans, children’s food pouches, water bottles, juice bottles, and vodka bottles—and some hand sanitizers have food scents, such as chocolate. FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, MD, said he is “increasingly concerned about hand sanitizer being packaged to appear to be consumable products, such as baby food or beverages. These products could confuse consumers into accidentally ingesting a potentially deadly product. It’s dangerous to add scents with food flavors to hand sanitizers which children could think smells like food, eat and get alcohol poisoning.” Hahn said manufacturers must be vigilant about the packaging and marketing of their hand sanitizers “to mitigate any potential inadvertent use by consumers.” As an example, FDA said it received a report about a consumer who purchased a bottle they thought was drinking water, when it was actually hand sanitizer. FDA also received a report from a retailer who said a hand sanitizer product was being marketed with cartoons for children and in a pouch that resembles a snack. “Drinking only a small amount of hand sanitizer is potentially lethal to a young child, who may be attracted by a pleasant smell or brightly colored bottle of hand sanitizer,” FDA warned. The agency said it continues to see an increasing number of adverse events stemming from the ingestion of hand sanitizer, including cardiac effects, effects on the central nervous system, hospitalizations, and death, primarily reported to poison control centers and state departments of health.