Rubber stamp that marks "FDA Approved"

An Iowa-based manufacturer of hand sanitizer will not be punished by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now that it has removed from its marketing materials misleading claims regarding the ability of its product to fight COVID-19.

Prefense LLC was the first company in the United States to receive a warning from the FDA for marketing unconfirmed claims that its hand sanitizer might be able to prevent infection or disease from certain pathogens, such as those that cause COVID-19," reports the Des Moines Register.

Carolyn Becker, the FDA's director of the Office of Unapproved Drugs and Labeling Compliance, wrote a letter to Prefense expressing the administration's appreciation for the actions the company has taken to bring its products into compliance. Becker's letter states that Prefense's website and social medial channels have removed any claims that the company's products can prevent infection or disease, as well as erroneous time-specific extended efficacy claims. 

A private company that only employs seven people, Prefense says it's pleased that the FDA has determined that the company is in full compliance, according to the Register.

The FDA has been extremely busy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, it had to ask alcohol manufacturers making emergency hand sanitizer to make the sanitizer less palatable because too many people are trying to drink the product.