Another hand-sanitizing brand was sued in a class-action lawsuit, alleging that consumers have been misled by deceptive advertising suggesting the product prevents disease and reduces illness.
In her complaint, plaintiff Manal Aleisa accuses Purell Advanced Hand Sanitizer brand of not applying with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before marketing the allegedly unapproved hand antiseptic.
“Germs are made up of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa,” Plaintiff’s attorney Ryan L. McBride wrote in the lawsuit. “By Defendant stating that its Product kills 99.99% of germs, it is actually stating that the Product kills 99.99% of bacteria and viruses. Defendant then makes the jump to the conclusion that by killing 99.99% of bacteria and viruses, this results in the Product preventing disease and reducing illness, which is not true.”
The complaint was filed on January 31, 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
“I expect settlement conversations to happen early because the lawsuit could harm their brand if it became well known that these hand sanitizers don't work,” said Jeff Lewis, an attorney who practices in Southern California.
Plaintiff used a Jan.17, 2020 warning letter, posted on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website, condemning the Purell sanitizing brand for misrepresenting the product as intended for reducing or preventing the flu and other viruses, according to the FDA website.
“The brand will likely spend the money to back up the claims so they can continue making the claim or they will massage the language so to comply with the FDA warning letter,” Lewis told the Southern California Record.
The warning letter states that the FDA is currently unaware of any adequate and well-controlled studies demonstrating that killing or decreasing the number of bacteria or viruses on the skin by a certain magnitude produces a corresponding clinical reduction in infection or disease caused by such bacteria or virus.