“Following simple handwashing practices is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of many types of infection and illness at home, at school and elsewhere”, Theresa M. Michele of the FDA’s Division of Nonprescription Drug Products said in a statement.
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It’s a major victory for many people who believe antibacterial ingredients do more harm than good.
The regulator also deferred by a year a ruling on three additional ingredients used in consumer wash products – benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride and chloroxylenol (PCMX) – to allow for the submission of new safety and effectiveness data for those ingredients.
The FDA said manufacturers have 1 year to phase out or reformulate their products without the banned ingredients. Manufacturers were asked to provide more data on the safety and effectiveness of certain ingredients used if they wanted to continue selling certain products.
Soaps and wash products containing certain antibacterial ingredients can no longer be sold, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Friday.
The FDA’s ban does not apply to antibacterial products used in hospitals, or consumer hand sanitizers and wipes.
Triclosan used in 93 percent of liquid products labeled “antibacterial” or “antimicrobial” – at least 2,000 different products, according to the FDA.
Now, with the FDA’s ruling, the agency said to skip the antibacterial soaps altogether. “Antibacterial soaps are critical to public health because of the importance hand hygiene plays in the prevention of infection”. Guilty. I’ve often skipped the prettier, better-smelling hand soaps in favor of the boring, green antibacterial variety, because #superparent. Do not assume that so-called antibacterial ingredients found in some soaps on shelves now (until the complete FDA ban takes place) are effective. The FDA and CDC agree that soaps don’t need antibacterials to be effective. Health Canada also recommends using plain old soap and water, too, but you will find this advice at the bottom of their web page.
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For years many of us believed that antibacterial washes were more effective at preventing the spread of germs. “We feel there is a tight relationship between these bacteria that are gaining resistance and the widespread use of these compounds”, Cardillo said.
