Thejoyofdriving
07-06-2007, 01:58 AM
The FDA and Colgate–Palmolive issued warnings this week about counterfeit Colgate toothpaste which may contain a poisonous substance. Thus far, the toothpaste has been discovered in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Apparently, this product does not contain fluoride. Instead, it contains Diethylene Glycol (DEG). DEG is often described by its more layman’s term: antifreeze.
anti-freeze, is a toxic substance that could, even in small amounts, harm children or those with compromised health, yet it is routinely used in Chinese toothpaste destined for domestic consumption. Evidently, nearly one million tubes of this Chinese toothpaste found their way into American institutions.Doug Arbesfeld, an FDA official, said that testing had found the chemical in a product bearing Colgate label.
The FDA pointed out an important method of distinguishing the bogus toothpaste:
For alert consumers it should be easy to identify the problem tubes as the counterfeit packages examined so far have several misspellings including: “isclinically” “SOUTH AFRLCA” “South African Dental Assoxiation.”
The Company said in a statement that (http://investor.colgate.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=249237&ReleaseType=Company&ReleaseDate=%7Bts%20%272007-06-15%2000:00:00%27%7D&header=&Archive=) it does not use Diethylene Glycol as an ingredient in Colgate toothpaste anywhere in the world nor does it import toothpaste from South Africa into the United States.
It said no illnesses have been reported to date.
anti-freeze, is a toxic substance that could, even in small amounts, harm children or those with compromised health, yet it is routinely used in Chinese toothpaste destined for domestic consumption. Evidently, nearly one million tubes of this Chinese toothpaste found their way into American institutions.Doug Arbesfeld, an FDA official, said that testing had found the chemical in a product bearing Colgate label.
The FDA pointed out an important method of distinguishing the bogus toothpaste:
For alert consumers it should be easy to identify the problem tubes as the counterfeit packages examined so far have several misspellings including: “isclinically” “SOUTH AFRLCA” “South African Dental Assoxiation.”
The Company said in a statement that (http://investor.colgate.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=249237&ReleaseType=Company&ReleaseDate=%7Bts%20%272007-06-15%2000:00:00%27%7D&header=&Archive=) it does not use Diethylene Glycol as an ingredient in Colgate toothpaste anywhere in the world nor does it import toothpaste from South Africa into the United States.
It said no illnesses have been reported to date.