China Faults U.S. FDA In Toothpaste Flap

consumeraffairs ^ | 6/5/07 | Joseph S. Enoch

[ears_to_hear]

.....The agency said it had found diethylene glycol (DEG) in toothpaste sold at a Dollar Plus retail store in Miami under the brand name ShiR Fresh. It said nine other brands also contained the sweet, syrupy chemical and warned the products had a “low but meaningful risk of toxicity and injury,” especially when used by children or individuals with kidney or liver disease.

“All the toothpastes were registered with the FDA and approved to be distributed in the United States, so they contradicted themselves by warning consumers to avoid using China-made toothpastes and detaining shipments from China,” said Li Yuanping, director of General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.......

The Chinese government says its manufacturers were not trying to deceive anyone, and complied with all U.S. laws. It says U.S. importers submitted the formula used to produce the toothpaste exports to the FDA before the shipment, and that the content level of chemical D-E-G was indicated on the packaging.

[ears_to_hear]

"A recent story by ConsumerAffairs.Com found illegally imported toothpaste being sold in in discount stores. We found 17 tubes of illegally imported toothpaste being sold in D.C.-area discount stores. The tubes were all manufactured in other countries and are not intended for sale in the U.S. One illegal tube of toothpaste was from China."

China is right about this, it is OUR countries fault!

[sinanju]

Diethyline Glycol: it’s what makes antifreeze yummy!

[M. Dodge Thomas]

It would appear they are a bit unclear about public relations in a market economy served by a media hungry for scary stories.

[ears_to_hear]

Thank God for a press that will tell us what the government will not.

It is every man for himself in this new 3rd world nation of ours

[Buddy B]

Diethyline Glycol: it’s what makes antifreeze yummy!

Yes, and it will kill your pets that lick it.

[BipolarBob]

This IS the FDAs fault. If they didn’t look for it they wouldn’t have found it.

[Texas_Jarhead]

So China validates the belief that they can and will lie, mislead, and defraud whomever, whenever, wherever. If the dupes can't catch em then the dupes simply earn their namesake.

[toothfairy86]

Three tablespoons of DEG (antifreeze) is enough to kill a medium sized dog. It’s no wonder so many people in Panama died from cough syrup containing DEG. The Chinese have been substituting DEG for glycerine as a sweetening and thickening agent because it’s cheaper.

[sweetiepiezer]

It is Bush’s fault.

[Doc91678]

Diethyline Glycol: it’s what makes antifreeze yummy!

Diethylene Glycol is forbidden on the GRAS list of chemicals. This was no mistake. Now Propylene Glycol is acceptable and used quite frequently as a solvent and sweetener.
There again there are many other items that are usable other than known poisons.

[ears_to_hear]

It was found in Panama ,where it killed people. months before our FDA looked.

Your government at work (how does it feel to be slower than panama ?)

[khnyny]

I don’t think that most people in the general populace even know about this story and the people that do don’t realize the true enormity of the problem.

[Northern Alliance]

It would appear they are a bit unclear about public relations in a market economy served by a media hungry for scary stories.

This attitude is not a product of a communist system, but is cultural. I live in Thailand which has a large and disproportionately influential Chinese population, especially in the business world. I see this all the time, in businesses large and small: never, ever admit a mistake or accept liability - always blame it on someone else.

[M. Dodge Thomas]

Interesting. Thanks for the comment.

[ears_to_hear]

I agree.

I noticed the Colgate box in the story.

I wonder if OUR Colgate is made there?