A person was hospitalised after ingesting hand sanitiser supplied by Australia's largest privately owned hotel chain, Queensland health authorities have confirmed. The Dr Schwartz Hand Sanitiser was recalled on Wednesday by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) after it was found to contain a high concentration of methanol.
The 60ml bottles were provided free to guests at the Paradise Resort on the Gold Coast between 31 August 2020 and 6 January. The ACCC also identified that 200ml bottles, which were not complimentary, were affected. Health officials warned that methanol is highly toxic if ingested and can cause serious injury or death.
The hotel's general manager, David Brook, stated that the recall followed an incident where a guest 'inappropriately consumed two bottles of the sanitiser, causing a medical reaction'. Queensland Health later confirmed the methanol contamination was discovered after the adult guest suffered acute methanol poisoning, was treated in hospital, and has since been discharged.
The ACCC said the hand sanitiser was supplied to the resort by Schwartz Family Co, which imported it from India. Schwartz Family Co is Australia's largest privately owned hotel group, operating 14 hotels. Health authorities urged anyone with the recalled product to stop using it immediately and dispose of it safely, noting that skin exposure poses low toxicity risk but ingestion is dangerous.
