During the early days of the pandemic, finding a source of hand sanitizer was a challenge, particularly for the community. Many new products came onto the market as a result of the increased demand. Earlier this year, the independent lab, Valisure, took on the work of determining if these hand sanitizers were safe. Of the 260 brands that were tested, 44 batches failed for having an unacceptable level of benzene, a known carcinogen. While the products we use within our organizations are most likely safe, many members of your community may be using these products and are unaware of the potential associated risk. Valisure has requested the FDA issue recall notices for these products, but recall notices often go undetected by our communities. The Valisure petition is attached for your reference.
Valisure-FDA-Citizen-Petition-on-Hand-Sanitizer-v4.14
Call to Action: Work with your public relations department and your community resources to make this information available to your community and encourage community members to discard these products – for the betterment of their own health.