Colgate-Palmolive announced Wednesday that it is recalling roughly 4.9 million units of its Fabuloso multipurpose cleaner over concerns that the products may contain a harmful bacteria.
In a statement on its website, Fabulso wrote that the issue was caused because “a preservative was not added at the intended levels during manufacturing.”
“With inadequate preservative, there is a risk of bacteria growth in the recalled products,” the statement read.
The affected products were manufactured between mid-December and mid-January and around 80 per cent of them were not released to the public for sale. Five different scented versions of the product may have been affected by the manufacturing issue.
The Fabuloso site states that consumers who did purchase one or more of the roughly one million units of recalled cleaner that did go on sale to public are entitled to refunds for their purchases. People who are currently in possession of one of the recalled units are advised to throw them away.
According to a notice on the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website, people with weakened immune systems are at a heightened risk from the bacteria in question.
“People with weakened immune systems, external medical devices, or underlying lung conditions who are exposed to the bacteria face a risk of serious infection that may require medical treatment,” the notice reads. “The bacteria can enter the body if inhaled, through the eyes, or through a break in the skin. People with healthy immune systems are usually not affected by the bacteria.”
No injuries or illness due to the recalled cleaner have been reported to this point.
Fabuloso was founded in Venezuela in 1980 before moving into Mexico several years later where it gained popularity and set the stage for its entrance into the US market in 1996. The product is particularly popular with many Latino Americans, some of whom decried the recall on social media after it was announced on Wednesday.
