A medical team administers hand sanitiser to a resident of the Basque town of Azpeitia, Spain, 17 August 2020;
Credit: Reuters/Vincent West/File Photo
(Reuters) - The EU is considering classifying ethanol, an ingredient used in many hand sanitisers, as a dangerous substance that increases the risk of cancer, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday 21 October 2025.
An internal recommendation on Friday 10 October 2025 by one of the working groups within the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) flagged ethanol as a toxic substance, which increased the risk of cancer and pregnancy complications, the FT said, and needed to be replaced in cleaning and other products.
The ECHA's Biocidal Products Committee is set to meet between Tuesday 25 and Friday 28 November 2025.
The regulator said that if its expert committee "concludes that ethanol is carcinogenic", it would recommend its substitution, the FT said, adding that the final decision would be made by the European Commission.
The European Chemicals Agency did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.
The agency told the FT that ethanol might "still be approved for the intended biocidal uses, if these are considered safe in the light of expected exposure levels or no alternatives are found," stressing that no decision had yet been made.
The World Health Organization classifies both ethanol and isopropanol as safe to use for hand hygiene.
