A Drug Facts label on the product is a sign the product may contain antibacterial ingredients.
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In 2013 the FDA first proposed a ban and requested soap manufacturers do their best to convince them their antibacterial products were better at germ-fighting than the alternative and safe for continuous use. Overall, the agency said the 19 substances used in soaps for their antibacterial properties, the most popular of which are triclosan and triclocarban, are not more effective than normal soap. Technically there are three ingredients that haven’t been banned yet; benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, and chloroxylenol.
Reportedly, some manufacturers have already started removing these ingredients from their products. The FDA has given manufacturers a year to change their products or pull them off shelves. There’s growing concern that overuse of triclosan, the biocide in hand soap, leads to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, disrupts hormones in the body and may contribute to certain types of cancer.
The two most common ingredients in antibacterial soaps are triclosan and triclocarban. In addition, there is some evidence that some of these ingredients could lead to problems such as bacterial resistance or hormonal effects, according to the FDA.
Your antibacterial soap might not be what you thought it was: antibacterial. Which means that for all those people who’ve felt something was suspicious about these soaps since the beginning, now would be the time to prepare your “I told you so” speeches.
The agency also recently called for safety and effectiveness data from makers of hand sanitizer and other such products used without soap and water.
Antibacterial everything. All parents have their bathrooms stocked with antibacterial soaps to disinfect their kids’ grubby little hands when they get home from school or daycare. Manufacturers also haven’t proven if antibacterial soaps are more effective than their normal counterparts in preventing the spread of disease.
In the absence of either convincing data or any data submission at all, the FDA issued its final rule proposal today, which rules out the use of 19 ingredients.
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Brian Sansoni, a spokesman for the American Cleaning Institute (ACI), however, said, “Washing the hands with an antiseptic soap can help reduce the risk of infection beyond that provided by washing with non-antibacterial soap and water”.
