Back in March, as COVID-19 swept the world and rendered hand sanitiser a daily necessity, hand-cleaning devotees took to social media to give voice to a commonly undiscussed aspect of the product ― its smell.
They’re still wondering. “Why does all the hand sanitiser smell like tequila now?” asked a Twitter user in September. “Tequila-scented hand sanitiser has got to be the first thing outlawed in 2021,” wrote another.
The aroma could be attributed to the spirit industry’s shift to producing hand sanitiser in the early days of the pandemic. Back in March, in an effort to bolster the surging demand for hand sanitiser, distilleries stepped up to make the product.
Take Philip McDaniel, CEO of Florida-based St. Augustine Distillery, who realised he could help confront a national crisis pretty early on.
“We were fighting a war against this thing and there was no hand sanitiser,” McDaniel recalled. “I started researching and realised we can make this stuff internally ― so we started doing it.”
To make any sort of liquor, spirit companies begin with distilled alcohol, which is ethanol. Ethanol also happens to be the primary ingredient in hand sanitiser, a fact that positioned the liquor industry to enter the disinfectant market.
By definition, ethanol is an organic chemical compound that is colourless and, although boasting a characteristic odour, shouldn’t smell like any specific spirit. Which is to say that if your hand sanitiser smells like tequila, bourbon or vodka, it’s not because the products share ingredients. It’s because the company selling you the disinfectant may not be following proper production procedures.
But let’s start from the beginning.
How liquor brands got into the sanitiser business
McDaniel’s decision to shift to hand sanitiser production was typical of the spirit industry’s response to the pandemic. As companies like Purell faced an unprecedented surge in demand that depleted inventory, distillers like McDaniel swept in to fight the shortage and made a few bucks doing so.
It made sense for two reasons. First, as restaurants and bars were forced to shut down, distillers had to contend with major market losses. On the other hand, these same distillers enjoyed relatively easy access to the ingredients needed to create hand sanitiser, especially ethanol.
Once the government realised that the hand sanitiser shortage was going to be a real problem and that companies usually devoted to other pursuits had the ability to ease the scarcity, it rushed regulations surrounding the new endeavours.
The government embraced the spirit industry’s moves, McDaniel explained, and focused on requirements for “a really safe formula.”
That formula is found in the Food and Drug Administration’s official ”Temporary Policy for Preparation of Certain Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitiser Products During the Public Health Emergency (COVID-19).″ It specifies ethanol or United States pharmacopeia-grade isopropyl alcohol, plus glycerol or food chemical codex, hydrogen peroxide and sterile water.
If your sanitiser smells like liquor, it may not be completely up to standard
The type of ethanol used in hand sanitisers is government-regulated, with the FDA solely permitting alcohol “produced using fermentation and distillation processes typically used for consumable goods, and that is made in a facility used for producing consumable foods.” The product must be an aqueous solution and not a “gel, foam or aerosol spray.” The packaging has to seal in a way that prevents evaporation of the ingredients.
McDaniel, whose company no longer makes sanitiser, explained that the distilled alcohol that was the basis of his usual product is basically “a sugar source that has been converted to ethanol or alcohol through a process of fermentation.”
Distillers found themselves able to easily and swiftly create hand sanitiser with the FDA-specified ingredients.
“Basically, you’re taking the neutral spirit that you use to make [vodka or tequila or another spirit] and you use it as your basis to make hand sanitiser,” McDaniel explained. “It’s called neutral because its neutral of colour, its neutral of flavour and its neutral of taste. Technically, it should have zero” aroma.
It’s important to note that the FDA directive states that hand sanitiser producers should not “add other active or inactive ingredients, such as ingredients to improve the smell or taste, due to the risk of accidental ingestion in children.” The policy adds: “Different or additional ingredients may impact the quality and potency of the product.”
Yet, as a barrage of complaints on Twitter suggests, some of the products we’ve been stuffing into our bags, homes and cars do smell faintly like tequila. How is that possible?
McDaniel said the smell could only have two explanations: “Whoever is doing that is either not making it according to the FDA formula or they’re going through a totally different approval process [by which] you have to get a license. It’s a more intense process.”
FDA spokesperson Jeremy Kahn explained that there have been three ways to produce and market hand sanitiser since the start of the pandemic. The first involves following the temporary FDA policy. The second method is to comply with 1994 regulations for over-the-counter topical antiseptics. The third option is to submit a new drug application.
Hand sanitiser produced by manufacturers following instructions laid out in the FDA’s temporary policy should not have any sort of odour, Kahn said. If they do, they are not up to standard.
“Firms that wish to market a hand sanitiser with a scent would not be able to market their product under the temporary policies,” Kahn explained.
Fragrant hand sanitisers have either been marketed since before COVID-19 under the 1994 rules for topical antiseptics, or they don’t comply with the FDA’s guidance, Kahn said.
Distilleries have largely stepped away from the sanitising business
“At the beginning, there was all this demand and no supply,” recalled McDaniel. “You could make it, charge for some, give some away and you were doing good.”
That changed around June or July, he said, when existing manufacturers like Purell and Johnson & Johnson “came back with a vengeance” with output that caught up with the roaring demand. “They turned their factories on 24/7 and they were pumping out the product,” he added.
McDaniel said he’s done with hand sanitiser, for now. “We jumped in to do it because we wanted to help save our community and keep people safe,” he said.
The best way to use hand sanitiser
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a thorough guide for using hand sanitiser. It points out that alcohol-based sanitisers “can quickly reduce the number of microbes on hands in some situations,” but they do not eliminate all types of toxins (think heavy metals and pesticides) and may not work on extremely dirty or greasy hands. That is to say that soap and water are the best hand-washing option. But if that’s not available, opt for a sanitiser that boasts at least 60% alcohol.
The CDC suggests applying the sanitiser to the palm of one hand, rubbing it all over the surfaces of both hands and waiting for it to dry. That process is the same whether you’re using a scented or fragrance-free version of the product.
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