Fabuloso Recall: Federal Agency Announces Recall of 4.9 Million Bottles of Cleaners Over Bacteria

A shopping cart is seen in a file photo. Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images

Nearly 5 million bottles of Fabuloso multipurpose cleaner were recalled on Wednesday because the products may contain harmful bacteria, manufacturer Colgate-Palmolive announced in a notice on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website.

The notice stipulated that about 4.9 million bottles of the cleaner can contain species of Pseudomonas bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas fluorescens. Those organisms can cause serious infections in individuals with weakened immune systems, officials have said.

“The recalled products can contain Pseudomonas species bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas fluorescens, which are environmental organisms found widely in soil and water,“ said the notice. ”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.”

Five different scented versions of the household cleaner are impacted under the recall, it said on the CPSC website, which included a list of all the brands and specific products under recall. The impacted products were made between Dec. 14, 2022, and Jan. 23, 2023.

The products, manufactured in the United States, are widely available at stores across the United States. The products cost between $1 and $10 and were carried via Amazon, Walmart, Dollar General, Family Dollar, The Home Depot, Sam’s Club, and other top retailers, said the CPSC notice.

A file photo shows a recalled Fabuloso bottle. CPSC

Some 56,000 bottles were also sold in Canada, the agency stated.

The notice then warned that the “bacteria can enter the body if inhaled, through the eyes, or through a break in the skin,” according to the recall notice. “People with healthy immune systems are usually not affected by the bacteria.”

According to a bulletin posted on Fabuloso’s website, the reason why the bacteria was introduced was due to a manufacturing issue in which a preservative wasn’t added in high enough levels. The firm said that the manufacturing issue has since been corrected and that about 3.9 million recalled bottles “were never released for sale” to the public.

Consumers shouldn’t use the products and can contact Colgate-Palmolive for a refund or replacement. The company also advises consumers not to empty the product prior to disposal.

Neither the CPSC notice nor Fabuloso’s notice included any reports of illnesses or adverse events associated with the products.

Consumers can submit a request to the Colgate-Palmolive Company at 1-855-703-0166 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or online at www.Fabulosorecall.com.

The first eight digits of the lot code of the recalled products are 2348US78 through 2365US78, as well as 3001US78 through 3023US78. A list of the codes of the recalled products can be found on its website.

More Details

Last October, Clorox announced the recall several Pine-Sol cleaning products, citing a risk of exposure to the same type of bacteria associated with the products.

“The recalled products may contain bacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an environmental organism found widely in soil and water,” the CPSC said at the time.

Health website WebMD says that Pseudomonas species are often spread to individuals “in health care settings through contaminated surfaces, hands, and equipment” and note that some “healthy people even have strains of it growing on their skin in moist parts of their body ... this can be called a pseudomonas infection.”

“If you’re in good health, you may not get sick from it. Other people only get a mild skin rash or an ear or eye infection. But if you’re sick or your immune system is already weakened, pseudomonas can cause a severe infection. In people with cystic fibrosis, cancer, or burns, it can be life-threatening,” the site says. “It is one of the top causes of infections people get from being in hospitals.”