2024 Mouthwash Recall: What to Know

Your oral hygiene routine may be disrupted if you use one brand of mouthwash. More than 102,000 bottles of Heritage Store Hydrogen Peroxide Mouthwash sold at Amazon, Whole Foods, and other retailers was recalled by Salt Lake City-based Nutraceutical Corporation in late February after it was found to pose a potential poisoning risk for children.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced the recall on Feb. 29. The recall involves all bottles of wintermint- and eucalyptus mint-flavored mouthwash manufactured by Nutraceutical Corp., of Salt Lake City. The bottles are a dark opaque brown with a white lid and feature a pink and white label on the front of the bottle that displays the Heritage Store logo, product name, and flavor. The recalled products were sold over the span of 13 years from October 2010 through December 2023 for about $10.50 per bottle at Amazon, Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme Farmers Market, Mom's Organic Market, New Seasons Market and Mother's Market & Kitchen, and other stores nationwide and online.

The recall was issued due to lack of child-resistant packaging required for products containing a certain concentration of ethanol. . The Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA) requires child-resistant packaging for products containing a certain concentration of ethanol. Symptoms of ethanol poisoning include vomiting, nausea, slowed breathing, drowsiness, unsteady walking, confusion, and abdominal pain, among others, per MedlinePlus. According to the CPSC's notice, no incidents or injuries have been reported.

"While we have not received any report of injury or illness, the below-identified products contain 3 grams or more of ethanol (alcohol) per container and therefore require child-resistant packaging. Because the packaging of the products is not child-resistant, it poses a potential risk of poisoning if the contents are swallowed by young children," the Heritage Store said in a statement. "There are no known safety risks associated with adults taking the products as directed on the labels and there are no defects or adulterations in the products."

The CPSC's notice said consumers should "immediately store the recalled mouthwash in a safe location out of reach and sight of children." Consumers who purchased the recalled product can contact Nutraceutical Corporation for a refund or free product replacement, including shipping, depending on availability. The company is currently in the process of contacting all known purchasers directly regarding the recall.

Addressing the recall on its website, the Heritage Store said, "We take safety concerns very seriously and always want to offer our customers the highest-quality and safest products on the market."