A hand soap recall that started quietly in June has now been bumped up to a more serious risk level by the FDA, after lab testing linked several bottles to bacterial contamination. The agency classified the recall as Class II on September 11, and Intercon Chemical Co., the St. Louis company behind the products, is asking anyone who bought the affected soap to stop using it right away.
Intercon first pulled the products on June 29, but the FDA’s Class II label is what raises the stakes here. A Class II recall means using the product could lead to health problems that are temporary or reversible, and the agency considers the chance of something more serious to be low, though not zero. It sits one step below the FDA’s highest alert level, Class I, which is reserved for products that could cause serious injury or death.
Lab testing found that two of the six recalled soaps, Intercon Foaming Pear Hand Soap With Aloe and Clearly Better by Intercon Foaming Pear Hand Soap With Aloe, may contain five different bacterial strains: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas monteilii, Serratia marcescens and Serratia nematodiphila. The other four products in this hand soap recall, Summit 150 Foaming Hand Soap, Vestis Foaming Hand Soap in Fresh Pear Scent, and two Laura Lynn varieties, were flagged for potential bacterial contamination without a specific strain named in the FDA’s report.
Pseudomonas and Serratia are both types of bacteria that occur naturally in soil and water, but they’re also known for showing up in healthcare settings, where they can cause infections that are harder to treat because of antibiotic resistance, according to the CDC. Pseudomonas aeruginosa in particular has been linked to infections in the blood, lungs, and urinary tract, especially in people who are already sick, immunocompromised, or recovering from surgery. For a healthy person washing their hands at a kitchen sink, the risk is lower, but the FDA’s Class II classification means it’s real enough to take seriously.
The recalled soaps reached 20 companies, 19 of them wholesale distributors and one a retailer, across 15 states: California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. In total, this hand soap recall covers roughly 2,700 cases of product.
If you’ve got any of these six soaps sitting at home, in a break room, or in a business you run, the advice is simple. Stop using it, and either return it to where you bought it or throw it away. Intercon has not said publicly whether refunds are available for people who already purchased the recalled soap. If you’ve been using one of these products and start feeling off, even something as mild as skin irritation, redness, or a stomach issue, it’s worth getting checked out by a doctor rather than waiting to see if it passes on its own.
Here’s the full list of what’s covered in the recall:
Intercon Foaming Pear Hand Soap With Aloe, 28.7 fl. oz.
Clearly Better by Intercon Foaming Pear Hand Soap With Aloe, 34 fl. oz.
Summit 150 Foaming Hand Soap, 28.7 fl. oz.
Vestis Foaming Hand Soap, Fresh Pear Scent, 33.8 fl. oz.
Laura Lynn Honey Apple Crisp Liquid Hand Soap, 8 fl. oz.
Laura Lynn Foaming Pear Scent Hand Soap With Moisturizers, 7.5 fl. oz.
Intercon Chemical mainly makes cleaning and sanitation products for commercial use, things like janitorial supplies and products for medical and food service settings, so a lot of these bottles likely made their way into workplaces, gyms, and restaurants rather than just home bathrooms. That helps explain why the reach is so wide even though most people have probably never heard of Intercon by name. Several of the affected products were sold under other brand names, including Summit, Vestis, and Laura Lynn, which is why it’s worth checking the UPC and lot code rather than just the label at a glance.
This hand soap recall isn’t the only one to make headlines this year. Other hand soap and sanitizing product lines have dealt with similar bacterial contamination concerns in recent months, which is a reminder that it’s worth checking the bottle by your sink or in your office break room instead of grabbing it on autopilot.
If none of the six products above match what’s in your home or workplace, there’s nothing else you need to do right now. But if you’re not sure, checking the lot code and UPC on your bottle against the FDA’s enforcement report is the safest way to confirm whether yours is one of the ones affected.