# Suspect dollar store hand sanitizer. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 29, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspect-dollar-store-hand-sanitizer/852841 "2020-04-29T21:04:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2020, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspect-dollar-store-hand-sanitizer/852841/21 "2020-04-30T13:36:55Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > For the sale of drugs in the US, there are only two possibilities\*: > > 1. The company is producing counterfeit products that have not been evaluated by the FDA, and the company is breaking the law. The FDA takes this stuff very seriously > > 2. The product in question is FDA approved. In that case, the generic will have been required to meet all the same quality and manufacturing standards that the brand name was. > > \*Dietary supplements follow a different set of rules This isn’t quite true, currently. Due to the shortage the FDA has said they will not prosecute any makers of claimed hand sanitizer as long as there are no adverse effects. If you experience any you are highly recommended to report them to the FDA [here](https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/index.cfm). Unfortunately, its the wild west in the hand sanitizer market. The FDA has issued guidelines and will defend any manufacture that follows them but a lot of people are ignoring the guidelines to make a buck. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspect-dollar-store-hand-sanitizer/852841/22 "2020-04-30T13:43:07Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > This isn’t quite true, currently. Due to the shortage the FDA has said they will not prosecute any makers of claimed hand sanitizer as long as there are no adverse effects. If you experience any you are highly recommended to report them to the FDA [here](https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/index.cfm). Unfortunately, its the wild west in the hand sanitizer market. The FDA has issued guidelines and will defend any manufacture that follows them but a lot of people are ignoring the guidelines to make a buck. Sorry- I was specifically referring to the comment about Aspirin or antibiotics not having great quality control. I’m in pharmaceuticals, but I don’t know anything about the regs around hand sanitizer. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspect-dollar-store-hand-sanitizer/852841/23 "2020-04-30T13:43:43Z")
Due to the shortages, now is the time when we most especially need prosecution. If people are selling stuff as hand sanitizer, and it doesn’t do anything, people are going to die. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2020, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspect-dollar-store-hand-sanitizer/852841/24 "2020-04-30T14:16:54Z")
Be careful. Alcohol (especially ethanol) burns with a clear flame you can’t see. I use etOH in my lab. We have to do a demo for all the new employees with the “magic fire” to make them realize it. We have had it light at a 60% concentration before. It took a few tries. Try lighting it above in the fume area. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspect-dollar-store-hand-sanitizer/852841/25 "2020-04-30T14:56:00Z")
I bought a bottle of “La Rose” brand the other day. The label says: “Antibacterial” “FDA approved” “alcohol-free” “Kills 99.99% of germs” However, I notice it does not say “anti-viral”. The active ingredient is benzalkorium chloride 0.1% The wikipedia page for [benzalkonium chloride](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzalkonium_chloride) has this to say: > [@](#): > > In September 2016, the FDA announced a ban on nineteen ingredients in consumer antibacterial soaps citing a lack of evidence for safety and effectiveness. A ban on three additional ingredients, including benzalkonium chloride, was deferred to allow ongoing studies to be completed.[38] However, the stuff is used in Russia and China as a spermicide, so maybe it wasn’t a complete loss. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspect-dollar-store-hand-sanitizer/852841/26 "2020-04-30T15:48:56Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > Sorry- I was specifically referring to the comment about Aspirin or antibiotics not having great quality control. I’m in pharmaceuticals, but I don’t know anything about the regs around hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer is an OTC medicine just like aspirin. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspect-dollar-store-hand-sanitizer/852841/27 "2020-05-01T02:38:49Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [This examination](https://www.drugs.com/otc/112043/hand-sanitizer-hand-rx.html) says that there are 62 gm/100 mL, and [this examination](https://www.drugs.com/otc/106412/blue-cross-laboratories-hand-rx.html) says that there are 62 mL/100 mL. I’m not sure that those two figures are equal. You are correct. I started writing up more then saw that others had already done so. I don’t know what the standard for hand sanitizer actually is supposed to be: by weight or volume? The OP’s concern about the dollar store stuff is valid. There are lots of articles out there about the sorts of merchandise you can find there (a famous one a few years ago discussed toothpaste that had unsafe levels of fluoride) - it may be poor quality, use outdated / unsafe materials, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspect-dollar-store-hand-sanitizer/852841/28 "2020-05-01T06:28:56Z")
On a humorous note. A local distillery has shifted over to sanitizer manufacturing. My local liquor store is selling the legitimate product. But. It comes in various bottles. I peeled the sanitizer label off the fancy bottle to reveal the original bottle use. UPTOWN GIRL FLIRTY LIQUOR Chuckled. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspect-dollar-store-hand-sanitizer/852841.md?page=1)