Experts say calling the fake Dollarama hand sanitizer is a lesson for retailers

Dollarama Inc is removing counterfeit and reference hand sanitizer from its shelves, which experts say should serve as a reminder of how important it is for retailers and consumers to take due care when shopping.

“Since the emergence of the Coronavirus, it has been just a huge wild west of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE),” said Yue Zhao, a pharmacist and lead in charge of quality assurance at MedyKits, an Ontario-based company.

“Some people don’t realize this is happening.”

Gao’s comments on Tuesday came after Health Canada revealed that it had uncovered a fake Daily Shield hand sanitizer for sale in Thunder Bay at Dollarama, UNT. With the same batch number as a legitimate product of Bio Life Sciences Corp.

Montreal-based Dollarama said the 250ml product labeled NPN 80098979, Lot 6942 Expiry May 2023 was available at nearly half of the chain’s stores, and each location sold about 17 bottles, which were removed once Health Canada began the investigation.

Health Canada believes that the fraudulent version of the product may not be effective at killing bacteria and viruses, and pose serious health risks because it contains methanol. The ingredient is not approved for use in hand sanitizers and can cause severe adverse reactions or death when ingested.