The products that have been banned contain 19 specific antimicrobial substances including triclosan – an antibacterial and antifungal agent found in consumer products, including toothpaste, soaps and detergents.
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Just washing your hands with plain soap and water is good enough, say Australian infectious disease experts, as they advise consumers to ditch antibacterial soaps. “Consumers may think antibacterial washes are more effective at preventing the spread of germs, but we have no scientific evidence that they are any better than plain soap and water”, said Janet Woodcock, director of FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
The FDA has chose to ban many antibacterial products after manufacturers failed to provide data proving that they actually work.
The banned chemicals are in about 40 per cent of soaps and liquid washes sold in USA and are in some domestic products sold in Australian supermarkets and chemists.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Friday banned the use of certain antibacterial chemicals in hand and body wash products.
The statement pointed out that two of the most commonly used active ingredients in producing washes with the antibacterial property are triclosan and triclocarban – ingredients that are meant to be rinsed off with water after application. Now in a new ruling, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declared that companies selling over-the-counter antiseptic washes will no longer be allowed to market their products as such due to doubts over these products’ safety and effectiveness.
There is concern that use of triclosan, which was initially intended for use in hospitals when it hit the market in the 1960s, could worsen the problem of antibiotic resistance.
There are 19 chemicals in question, but one in particular has been under the microscope for years in terms of their safety and effectiveness. For these ingredients, either no additional data were submitted or the data and information that were submitted were not sufficient for the agency to find that these ingredients are Generally Recognised as Safe and Effective (GRAS/GRAE).
The FDA is also considering the fate of three other chemicals commonly used in consumer wash products, and is waiting for the submission of new safety and effectiveness data for these compounds.
Washing with plain soap and running water remains one of the most important steps consumers can take to avoid getting sick and to prevent spreading germs to others.
Industry lobby group Accord Australasia, which represents soap makers like Palmolive, said the FDA decided on the ban because there was not enough evidence the products were safe or effective, not because of evidence they were unsafe or ineffective.
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To date, the benefits of using antibacterial hand soap haven’t been proven.
