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U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel will look closely
at antibacterial soaps after an advisory panel yesterday
said the soaps aren't any more effective in reducing illness
than regular soap, and could contribute to bacterial resistance
to antibiotics.
The
independent panel – the Non-Prescription Drugs Advisory
Committee – advises the FDA. The FDA is not bound by the
panel's decisions but often follows its advice. FDA has
the authority to add warning labels to or restrict the availability
of antibacterial soaps. However, it has given no indication
any such ruling is imminent.
Meat
and food processors use antibacterial soaps at employee
hand-wash stations as part of their sanitation and food
safety programs.
Representatives
of the soap industry argue that antibacterials are safe
and more effectivethan
regular soap.
In
documents, FDA officials have raised concerns about whether
the anti-bacterials contribute to the growth of drug-resistant
bacteria, and said the agency has not found any medical
studies that definitively linked specific anti-bacterial
products to reduced infection rates.
The
NPDAC was told that "there's a lack of evidence that antiseptic
soaps provide a benefit beyond plain soap," Allison Aiello,
an assistant professor at the Department of Epidemiology
at the University of Michigan, said. She cited a series
of studies in the United States and Pakistan.
Dr.
Stuart Levy, president of the Alliance for Prudent Use of
Antibiotics, said laboratory studies have suggested the
soaps sometimes leave behind bacteria that have a better
ability to flush threatening substances – from antibacterial
soap chemicals to antibiotics – from their system.
"What
we're seeing is evolution in action," he said. "Bacteria
are not going to be destroyed.”
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