By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has alerted Nigerians against the use of sanitisers manufactured in Mexico.
The agency said its advisory was based on the placement of all alcohol-based hand sanitisers manufactured in neighbouring Mexico on its watch list for falsification and for containing methanol.
The public alert No: 001/2021, signed by NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, was issued in Abuja on Monday, April 5, 2021.
It stated the US Food and Drug Agency (USFDA) had placed all alcohol-based hand sanitisers from Mexico on a countrywide import alert to help stop product falsification.
NAFDAC said the products had been banned from entering the US and will be on the watch list pending a review.
It stated, “The USFDA has seen a sharp increase in hand sanitiser products from Mexico that were labelled to contain ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol) but tested positive for methanol contamination over the course of the ongoing pandemic.
“Methanol or wood alcohol is a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin and life-threatening when ingested.
“Methanol is not an acceptable ingredient in hand sanitiser or other drugs.
“Under the import alert, alcohol-based hand sanitisers from Mexico offered for import are subject to heightened FDA scrutiny and the shipment may be detained.
“This marks the first time the FDA has issued a countrywide import alert for any category of drug product,” the public alert said.
Methanol exposure could result in nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, permanent blindness, seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system or death and all persons using these products on their hands risk methanol poisoning, the alert warned.
It further warned that young children, who accidently ingested these products and adolescents and adults who drank these products as an alcohol (ethanol) substitute, were most at risk.
The alert warned consumers, who had been exposed to hand sanitiser containing methanol and were experiencing symptoms, should seek immediate treatment for potential reversal of toxic effects of methanol poisoning.
NAFDAC urged all importers, distributors, retailers, and consumers to exercise caution and be vigilant to avoid the distribution, sale and use of methanol alcohol-based hand sanitisers.
It also warned those in possession of methanol alcohol-based hand sanitisers to discontinue the sale or use and to submit the stock to the nearest NAFDAC office.