Bogus Toothpaste Now in 6 States, Canada (Colgate)

The Washington Post ^ | 6/30/2007 | ANDREW BRIDGES

[Altura Ct.]

WASHINGTON -- Counterfeit Colgate toothpaste has now turned up in Canada, where testing has found dangerous bacteria but not the poisonous chemical previously detected in four states, a health official said Saturday.

In addition, store owners and police say they have discovered that the bogus Colgate was sold in Michigan and Virginia.

The FDA warned earlier in June that fake Colgate distributed in Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania may contain a poisonous chemical called diethylene glycol, or DEG, that typically is used in antifreeze. That toothpaste was the subject of a June 13 recall by a New Jersey distributor

[John Jorsett]

Is toothpaste such a high-profit item that it pays to counterfeit it? I’d never have guessed.

[stm]

Pssst, choo wanna buy some toot-paste maing?

[org.whodat]

That toothpaste was the subject of a June 13 recall by a New Jersey distributor

Was this stuff counterfeit, are is Colgate-Palmolive trying to cover their a-- ??

A Colgate-Palmolive spokesman said nearly all involved Colgate-produced toothpaste samples that were later cleared for delivery to the company's research and development center in New Jersey for routine analysis. Others may have involved diverted or counterfeit products, company spokesman Thomas DiPiazza said.

[Dumpster Baby]

“ju want to buy sum feelthy peekchurs?”

[napscoordinator]

I guess it is good I use Crest!

[Screamname]

I know, and you figure they`re probably selling this counterfeit paste for like a buck each, and that`s if someone buys it.

[Screamname]

Another thing I don`t understand is the table salt business. I swear, I’ve had the same Morton table salt container for the past 11 years and it’s barely half empty, and I bought it 11 years ago for 89 cents!!

So I figure for me to empty this thing, it would probably take another 11 years, for a total of 22 years altogether and then I will have to buy another for maybe a buck or two (due to inflation).

How can they POSSIBLY make any profit whatsoever on this stuff?

[Neoliberalnot]

Why is there no embargo on trade with China? Diethylene glycol is only slightly less toxic than ethylene glycol-based antifreeze. We are talking a lethal dose of a few teaspoons.

[madison10]

Ummm...where in Michigan?

[GOPJ]

Is it really counterfeit Colgate toothpaste? Or toothpaste put out by Colgate made in China or India? Why hasn’t a reporter cleared this up yet?

[CarrotAndStick]

Mass poisonings attributed to DEG

It has been responsible for a number of mass poisonings:

• The most infamous incident was the 1937 Elixir Sulfanilamide disaster in the USA, in which 107 people died after taking sulfanilamide dissolved in diethylene glycol.^[3] This episode was the impetus for the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938.^[4]

• In recent years, deaths from medicines adulterated with diethylene glycol have been reported from South Africa, India, Nigeria, Argentina, Haiti, and Panama. In Haiti in 1996, 85 children died due to glycerine contaminated with diethylene glycol in a paracetamol syrup produced by Pharval Laboratories, a Haitian company, which did not use standard quality assurance procedures to verify the purity of the glycerine (which was supplied by a Dutch company, Vos, from a manufacturer in China, but the point of contamination with DEG was never determined).^[5]

• In 1985 a small number of producers of Austrian wine were found to be adulterating their product with diethylene glycol in order to give the wine a sweeter and more full-bodied taste.^[6] The amount added was not high enough to be immediately toxic (one would have to ingest about 28 bottles per day for two weeks); however, exports of Austrian wine collapsed. As a result of this incident, stricter regulations were imposed on Austrian wine makers, and the industry shifted its emphasis from the production of bulk, somewhat sweet wines to lower yields of higher quality, drier wines. Thus, the 'antifreeze scandal' is regarded as having been positive for the industry in the long-term.^[7]

• In 1990, in Bangladesh, 339 children developed kidney failure, and most of them died, after being given paracetamol (acetaminophen) syrup contaminated with diethylene glycol.^[8]

• In October 2006 the CDC and the Ministry of Health of Panama detected toxic levels of diethylene glycol in a sugarless liquid expectorant during an investigation of 46 deaths from a syndrome characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms, renal failure and paralysis. Almost all the victims were hypertension and diabetes patients in their 40s to 80s. Criminal investigations are ongoing.^[9] The source of the contamination was found to be the Taixing Glycerine Factory, a Chinese company in Hengxiang, China. Taixing Glycerine sold diethylene glycol falsely labeled as pharmaceutical grade glycerine, through the state-owned Chinese trading company CNSC Fortune Way, based in Beijing. A government agency in Panama purchased the falsely labeled product containing diethylene glycol and incorporated it into 260,000 bottles of cold medicine.^[10] The United States Food and Drug Administration issued an Industry Guidance Document highlighting appropriate testing procedures for use of glycerin in response to product contamination and misrepresentation.^[11]

• In May 2007, Panamanian officials reported that toothpaste manufactured in China with "glycerine" contained high levels of DEG.^[12][13][14]
• Also in May 2007 the same toothpaste was found in some Costa Rican stores. Fast action by the Ministry of Health, and notification through the media, prevented poisonings due to this product. This event was linked to the death sentence of a former pharmaceuticals control officer in China, as the Costa Rican newspaper La Nación reported on its issue of May 30th.^[15] On June 4, 2007, a press release by the Chinese Foreign Ministry ^[16] cited a earlier study in China ^[17] which concluded that up to 15.6% diethylene glycol in toothpaste is safe.
• In June 2007, phony Colgate toothpaste imported from China was found to be contaminated with DEG, and several people in eastern US reported experiencing headaches and pain after using the product..^[18]

Because of the natural sweetness of the substance, domesticated animals have been victims of DEG poisoning after consuming spilled or leaking antifreeze from vehicles.

[GOPJ]

Is toothpaste such a high-profit item that it pays to counterfeit it?

I don't think so either... could this be a colgate product - just manufactured in another country?

[Westlander]

You’d be surprised. Here is just one small company....

Tom’s of Maine hopes that natural health will lead to corporate wealth. The company has made its living, and its reputation, by selling its flagship toothpaste brand (responsible for more than half of company sales), as well as mouthwash, dental floss, deodorant, soap, and shaving cream made from natural ingredients and distributed in environmentally-friendly packaging. The firm gives 10% of its pre-tax profits to charitable organizations and encourages its employees to use 5% of their paid time doing volunteer work. CEO Tom Chappell and his wife, VP Kate Chappell, founded Tom’s of Maine in 1970. Toothpaste giant Colgate acquired the company for about $100 million in May 2006.

http://www.hoovers.com/tom’s-of-maine/—ID__104424—/free-co-factsheet.xhtml?cm_ven=PAID&cm_cat=INK&cm_pla=CO1&cm_ite=tom’s-of-maine

[fanfan]

[OK]

It is counterfeit. We bought one in a Food Lion in North Carolina. When the warnings came out we noticed that the box said Made in Mexico. The Colgate website said it is counterfeit. We compared the box to a real box and there were large differences in the quality of the printing.

[GOPJ]

The Colgate website said it is counterfeit.

That's good enough for me.

[AnalogReigns]

Only if it’s made by Chinese slaves....

[advance_copy]

Colgate Deal With China

NY Times Published: December 6, 1991

The Colgate-Palmolive Company said yesterday that it had formed a joint venture to make and sell Colgate toothpaste in China.

The move is another step in the company's global expansion, which has brought its products to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the Soviet Union and Poland.

With a population of one billion, China offers "a potentially enormous market" for Colgate, the world's best-selling toothpaste, as well as the company's other consumer products, said Lois Juliber, president of Colgate-Far East.

Colgate-Palmolive is the majority partner in a joint venture with the Guangzhou Jie Yin Daily Use Chemicals Factory, the leading producer of toothpaste in Guangdong province in southern China. The Guang zhou Economic and Technical Development District Industrial Development Corporation is also a partner.

[itsahoot]

Is toothpaste such a high-profit item that it pays to counterfeit it? I’d never have guessed.

I can remember getting lead dimes in change in Chicago in the late 50's