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Holiday-makers to a Gold Coast resort are being urgently told to throw away a complimentary hand sanitiser after it was found to be contaminated with a toxic ingredient.
A 60ml bottle of Dr Schwartz hand sanitiser was gifted to visitors of the Paradise Resort Gold Coast between August 31, 2020 and January 6, 2026.
The consumer watchdog on Thursday urgently recalled the product after it was found to have traces of methanol, a highly toxic ingredient that can cause serious and irreversible injuries or death if ingested.
Anyone with the hand sanitiser should stop using the product immediately and dispose of it.
Larger 200ml hand sanitiser bottles available to guests at the resort were also found to contain methanol, but these were not given to guests, the ACCC said.
Paradise Resort Gold Coast has contacted previous guests to advise them to discard the hand sanitiser and all remaining stock has been surrendered to Queensland Health, general manager David Brook said.
'Over the five-year period, the sanitiser never caused any issues to guests or staff,' he said in a statement.
'The recall occurred after one guest inappropriately consumed two bottles of the sanitiser, causing a medical reaction.'
A 60ml bottle of Dr Schwartz hand sanitiser was gifted to visitors of the Paradise Resort Gold Coast (pictured) between August 31, 2020 to January 6, 2026
Paradise Resort Gold Coast has contacted previous guests to advise them to discard the hand sanitiser and all remaining stock has been surrendered
Authorities have urged people who have the product (pictured) to throw it in the bin
The inappropriate use led to Queensland Health taking samples, finding that rather than only containing ethanol, as was stated in the consignment delivery, methanol was also present.
NSW Health authorities have urged residents to throw the sanitiser in the general waste while reminding them to use the products as intended by following the label instructions.
'High concentrations of methanol are not permitted in alcohol-based hand sanitiser or any product used by the public,' they said.
David Brook, the general manager at Paradise Resort, told Daily Mail the sanitiser never caused any issues to guests or staff.
'The recall followed one guest inappropriately consuming two bottles of the sanitiser, resulting in a medical reaction,' Mr Brook said.
'This inappropriate use led to samples being taken by Queensland Health, which found that, rather than containing only ethanol, as was originally stated in the consignment delivery, methanol was also present, which is highly toxic if ingested.
'As with all hand sanitisers, it should not be consumed or ingested, and when used according to directions is extremely unlikely to cause any issues.'
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