The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning to Purell to stop its hand sanitizer campaign, which claims that it can prevent the viruses of flu and Ebola. FDA has sent an exhausting warning letter to GOJO Industries the makers of Purell hand sanitizer. Along with stopping its false claims about its products, the agency has revealed that Purell’s alcohol products qualify as drugs but have not been approved by the FDA for its advertised usages. Purell is one of the most popular brand names in the US. However as it claims to use alcohol for the mitigation and prevention of the disease, it means it is distributing drugs illegally. The company claims that it is proven to kill 99.9 percent of the germs on the hands, all over its products’ bottles branding, website and product description.
The agency has said that it is a bold and reassuring claim, at the time when the outbreaks of the disease are on its peak like the global spread of coronavirus. Although the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also advised people to use hand sanitizer if there is no soap and water available around, however being better than using nothing to get rid of the disease-causing germs is not the same as being proven to kill them. The company in question has very cleverly suggested that Purell hand sanitizers can kill viruses without stating it as a fact in its FAQs section. Purell’s website has said that the FDA does not allow hand sanitizer brands to make claims regarding the viruses. However, influenza, which is an enveloped virus, can be killed or inactivated by alcohol.
The CDC website reports that any disinfectants with 60 to 80 percent concentration have the potential of inactivating viruses. It also lists influenza as an example of viruses. Well, FDA has also hit out at Purell’s product, which consists of Ethanol alcohol. Ethanol alcohol is a nominated drug under the FDA’s pharmacopeia’ compendiums of compounds, which needs approval by the agency. The parent company of Purell, GOJO has 15 days to assure the FDA that what actions it is going to take which abides by the agency’s regulation without making false claims.
