HEALTH ALERT:Ministry bans sale of toxic alcohol gel

The  Ministry of Health (Minsa), has ordered the immediate suspension of the sale the  Green Frog brand of alcohol gel after the Specialized  Analysis of the University of Panama found that it contains the toxic methanol.

.The director of the Ministry’s drug surveillance  branch , Elvia Lau sai that at the start of the pandemic the installed capacity of the Panamanian industry was not sufficient to supply the population, so import measures were taken based on the documentation of the international manufacturer and upon arrival  of the product in  Panama has carried out the random pharmacovigilance where the irregularity of this gel was determined. Methanol is a colorless and highly toxic liquid, obtained by distillation of wood at low temperatures and is used to denature ethyl alcohol and as an additive to liquid fuels, making it harmful for topical use in humans.