Holiday-makers to a Gold Coast resort are being urgently told to throw away a complimentary hand sanitiser after it was found to be contaminated with a toxic ingredient.
A 60ml bottle of Dr Schwartz hand sanitiser was gifted to visitors of the Paradise Resort Gold Coast between August 31, 2020 to January 6, 2026.
The consumer watchdog on Thursday urgently recalled the product after it was found to have traces of methanol, a highly toxic ingredient that can cause serious and irreversible injuries or death if ingested.
Anyone with the hand sanitiser should stop using the product immediately and to dispose of it.
Larger 200ml hand sanitiser bottles available to guests at the resort were also found to contain methanol but these were not given to guests, the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission said.
Paradise Resort Gold Coast has contacted previous guests to advise them to discard the hand sanitiser and all remaining stock has been surrendered to Queensland Health, general manager David Brook said.
“Over the five year period, the sanitiser never caused any issues to guests or staff,” he said in a statement.
“The recall occurred after one guest inappropriately consumed two bottles of the sanitiser, causing a medical reaction.”
The inappropriate use led to Queensland Health taking samples, finding that rather than only containing ethanol, as was stated in the consignment delivery, methanol was also present.
NSW Health authorities have urged residents to throw the sanitiser in the general waste while reminding them to use the products as intended by following the label instructions.
“High concentrations of methanol are not permitted in alcohol-based hand sanitiser or any product used by the public,” they said.
The product maker, Schwartz Family Company, has been contacted for comment.
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