Antibacterial hand soaps containing a chemical flagged as potentially dangerous are not much better at killing germs than regular suds, researchers said on September 16. The chemical, triclosan, was long one of the commonest ingredients in antibacterial soaps, which are used by millions of people and generate $1 billion (880 million euros) in sales annually in the United States alone, experts say. But studies have linked it to antibiotic resistance and hormone problems, prompting a safety review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that may yet lead to restrictions.
Now a study in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy reports that when it comes to normal hand-washing, there is "no significant difference" between the bactericidal effects of plain soap and antibacterial soap.
The agent only became effective after microbes had been steeped in the stuff for nine hours, the authors found.