Health Canada is advising Canadians that another hand sanitizer is being recalled from the market because it may pose a risk to health risk to consumers.
Health Canada is advising Canadians that the Clean & Green Hand Sanitizer Gel hand sanitizer by Hope, Grace and Healing, DBA HgH Integrative Aromatics is made with ethanol or denaturants that are not acceptable for use in hand sanitizers, may pose health risks. Denaturants are added to ethanol to make it unfit for human consumption and, therefore, to avoid the unintentional ingestion of hand sanitizers (particularly by children). For more information, including what Canadians should do, visit the online safety alert.
Photo: Health CanadaCanadians are also advised to refer to the list of hand sanitizers that contain technical-grade ethanol and are being recalled from the market because they are not compliant with federal regulations and may pose a risk to health.
Health Canada maintains these lists of hand sanitizers that may pose health risks, so that Canadians can easily identify products they may have purchased and take appropriate action. Canadians are encouraged to check both lists regularly for updates.
What you should do
- Stop using the products. Please follow municipal or regional guidelines on how to dispose of chemicals and other hazardous waste. You may also return the product to your local pharmacy for proper disposal.
- Consult your healthcare professional if you have used these products and have health concerns.
- To help limit the spread of COVID-19, wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use alcohol-based hand sanitizers if soap and water are not available.
- Use hand sanitizers that have been authorized for sale in Canada. Hand sanitizers that have been authorized will display either a Natural Product Number (NPN) or Drug Identification Number (DIN) on the product label. These products can be found on the list of hand sanitizers that meet Health Canada's requirements.
- Consult the list of hand sanitizers authorized or registered in other jurisdictions that may not display an NPN or DIN but have been accepted for use in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. This list of accepted products can be found here.
- Report any health product adverse events or complaints to Health Canada.
Stop using recalled products. Consult your healthcare professional if you have used any of these products and have health concerns. Report any health product adverse events or complaints to Health Canada.
A Metro Vancouver fire department is also warning the public to be careful with that relatively new addition to their vehicles – hand sanitizer.
Since the pandemic struck in the spring, most people have armed themselves with a ready supply of the disinfectant in their cars.
But what they may not realize, explained Richmond Fire-Rescue, is that summer temperatures and the heat inside vehicles leads to the risk of alcohol-based sanitizers leaking.
- With files from the Richmond News.
