Photo: Health Canada

Health Canada has issued a alert after a counterfeit version of a hand sanitizer brand was found for sale in Ontario and may have been on shelves across the country.

The bottles of liquid, found on sale at a Dollarama in Thunder Bay, have an unknown liquid in them, according to Health Canada, and may not kill bacteria or viruses.

"A counterfeit version of Daily Shield hand sanitizer (labelled with NPN 80098979, Lot 6942, Expiry May 2023) has been found for sale at a Dollarama location in Thunder Bay and may have been sold at Dollarama stores across Canada. Health Canada is confirming the complete list of locations where the product was sold," states the federal agency.

Health Canada was alerted to the issue by Bio Life Science Corp., the company that produces the Daily Shield Brand. As the source of the counterfeit bottles isn't known, it could be a health risk.

"This counterfeit product is suspected to contain methanol, which is not authorized for use in hand sanitizers and could cause severe adverse reactions or death when ingested," states Health Canada on their website.

Dollarama is pulling the Daily Shield brand from its shelves across Canada and Health Canada is investigating further, including figuring out where else it may have been sold. Dollarama has over 1,000 stores across Canada including more than a dozen throughout the Thompson-Okanagan.