The US FDA wants manufacturers and compounding facilities to test drug products for methanol in alcohol ingredients, and responds to reports of fatal methanol poisonings of consumers who ingested alcohol-based based hand sanitizers.

Action responds to methanol contamination in hand sanitizers manufactured in Mexico and marketed in the US under numerous brands that followed a loosening standards for the products to drive a swift increase in production and meet surging demand during the coronavirus pandemic.

New import alert category and border testing required after reduced standards put dangerous sanitizers into hands of US consumers.