Will The Feds Make Us Sick?

When you’re driving at 60mph on the thruway, cellphone reception is spotty at best. No wonder my long-time traveling companion was anxiously awaiting a phone call to confirm her scheduled surgery and get instructions prior to the operation. The call came through and went something like this:

“Hi, yes, can you speak up a little? I’m in the car,” she explained. “Oh, okay; 7am, no food or drink after midnight, and what? Don’t wash with antibacterial soap?”

“No, no, no!” yelled the hospital employee through her iPhone. “Wash the night before with Dial soap and first thing in the morning when you get up. We’re trying to eliminate germs here.”

At least somebody’s trying to eliminate germs.

Last month the US Food and Drug Administration banned more than a dozen chemicals used in antibacterial soap, as the agency found they provide no benefit over traditional soap bars.
The FDA said there “isn’t enough science” to conclude over-the-counter antibacterial soaps are, in fact, better at preventing illness compared to plain soap and water.

The FDA issued a proposed rule in 2013 that required manufacturers to provide safety and efficacy data to continue marketing antibacterial products containing chemicals including triclosan and triclocarban. The FDA added that since then “very little information has been provided.”

As such, the FDA issued a final rule that antibacterial soap with the two chemicals will no longer be able to be marketed, but industry is responding. American Cleaning Institute (ACI) members will submit additional safety and effectiveness data on the key ingredients in use in consumer antibacterial soaps today and that consumers can continue to use antibacterial soaps with confidence as they have for decades, according to ACI.

“Our focus now is to submit additional data on the three remaining active ingredients in use today. FDA has deferred rulemaking on those three ingredients: benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride and chloroxylenol,” explained Brian Sansoni, VP-communication and membership and VP-sustainability initiatives. “Our main concern is that FDA has unfairly disparaged the entire category of antibacterial soaps and is on its way to eliminate consumer access to these products.”

According to Sansoni, ACI intends to continue to showcase the safety and benefits of these products for those who want to purchase them—so regular folks like you and me can follow the advice of surgeons, operating room nurses and other health care professionals who are fighting germs on the front line and not in a Silver Spring, MD bunker.

Tom Branna
Editorial Director
tbranna@rodmanmedia.com