On Monday the FDA told antibacterial soap manufacturers would have to prove that their soap was better than regular soap if their proposal is finalized.
“Antibacterial soaps and body washes are used widely and frequently by consumers in everyday home, work, school and public settings, where the risk of infection is relatively low,” Janet Woodcock, director of FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement Monday. “Due to consumers’ extensive exposure to the ingredients in antibacterial soaps, we believe there should be a clearly demonstrated benefit from using antibacterial soap to balance any potential risk.”
Kind of scary considering almost every home has anti-bacterial soap because they think it does a better job than regular soap. It’s a good thing the FDA is cracking down on this so we can know for sure that the products we are buying do what they say.
If this proposal is finalized it will change a lot, especially with hospitals using antibacterial soap. If manufacturers can’t prove results, they will have to relabel their soaps.