Allergy-inducing Chemicals Found In Handwashes

The Consumer Council said more than one-third of 35 handwashes it tested were found to contain preservatives that may cause allergies.

The watchdog said on Monday the products were found to contain the preservatives methylisothiazolinone (MIT) and methylchloroisothiazolinone (CMIT) that can cause skin allergy. In three of the cases, the levels exceeded European standards.

It said some products also contained other allergens, such as formaldehyde.

The watchdog's tests also found three handwashes that claimed to be antibacterial were found not to be effective in killing E. coli.

Spokeswoman Nora Tam has urged consumers to pay attention to the labels.

"You have to really look at the label of the product and see what kind of chemicals they have, including the pH value, whether they are too acid or too alkaline,” she said.

Tam said it’s important for people to use handwashes correctly.

“You must make sure that you wash hands with the handwash for at least 20 seconds, and then, you rub it all over the place… not only the palms, and you have to rub the thumb, and you have to rub it between the fingers, fingernails, and so on… and wrist,” she explained.