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(NewsCore) - A legal dispute between the U.S. and India over a herbal toothpaste was leaving a bitter aftertaste between the two countries Thursday, with Colgate Palmolive accused of filing a bogus patent. Colgate, the world’s largest producer of toothpaste, patented a toothcleaning powder in the hope that it would take the multibillion-dollar Indian oral hygiene market by storm. However, Indian activists claim that the patent is bogus because the ingredients -- including clove oil, camphor, black pepper and spearmint -- have been used for the same purpose for hundreds, “if not thousands,” of years on the subcontinent.

State Sen. Anthony D. Galluccio was led away in handcuffs today, sentenced to one year in jail for violating the terms of his home confinement. A judge sentenced the Cambridge Democrat after a full day of testimony over his failed Breathalyzer test Dec. 21. Galluccio blamed the bad test results on his toothpaste. He must now serve out his term in the House of Correction. Developing ...

Take a deep breath. The Herald has put state Sen. Anthony D. Galluccio’s oral argument to the test. The embattled Cambridge Democrat, on home confinement after pleading guilty to a hit-and-run crash, flunked a series of blood-alcohol checks this week - and he blamed it on his toothpaste. Galluccio claimed Sensodyne and Colgate Total Whitening toothpaste caused low readings on a Sobrietor, the device Galluccio uses. Galluccio said he brushed with both brands Monday before blowing into the device showing “several low level positive reads over the course of an hour.” A Herald test using an Alcohawk Slim Ultra digital...

Fluoride exposure is rising and causing children’s tooth imperfections, ranging from white spots to brownish discolorations and pitting (fluorosis), dentist Elivir Dincer reports in the New York State Dental Journal. (1) “Such changes in the tooth’s appearance can affect the child’s self-esteem which makes early prevention that much more critical,” writes Dincer. Children, aged 2 to 7 years, can swallow about one-quarter milligram of fluoride with every brushing because their swallowing reflexes are not fully developed, reports Dincer. “Children from the age of 6-months to 3-years should not have more than one-quarter milligram of fluoride per day. Brushing the teeth...

The Transportation Security Administration says terrorists' latest tactics to bypass airport security include hiding explosive materials in common items such as watches, electric toothbrushes and braces. (ABC)

A GROUP of Islamist terrorists plotted to blow up several passenger planes with liquid explosives, a court heard today. A gang of eight men accused of planning to blow up transatlantic aircraft whilst in mid-air wanted to inflict “heavy casualties”, it was alleged at Woolwich Crown Court today. Prosecutor Peter Wright said the victims of the terror attacks would have been an “unwitting civilian population” and that the men planned to inflict the casualties all in the name of Islam with a series of coordinated explosions. Woolwich Crown Court heard how homemade devices would have been smuggled on to aircraft...

PANAMA — Eduardo Arias hardly fits the profile of someone capable of humbling one of the world’s most formidable economic powers. A 51-year-old Kuna Indian, Mr. Arias grew up on a reservation paddling dugout canoes near his home on one of the San Blas islands off Panama’s Caribbean coast. He now lives in a small apartment above a food stand in Panama, the nation’s capital, also known as Panama City. But one Saturday morning in May, Eduardo Arias did something that would reverberate across six continents. He read the label on a 59-cent tube of toothpaste. On it were two...

ONE OF the tired cliches about Europe is that its inhabitants all have mossy teeth, and have limited enthusiasm for matters of personal hygiene. This is a deporable generalisation, and not a serious subject for discussion. That said... crikey there is a jaw-dropping piece in today's Le Figaro, tucked away in the health pages (alas, not seemingly available on the internet). The article quotes a pair of dentists, one from a Paris teaching hospital and one from the French dentistry association, and offers the following statistics (without citing sources). - one million French citizens never brush their teeth - half...

More counterfeit toothpaste found in Italy ROME, July 12 (UPI) -- More tubes of counterfeit toothpaste were seized Thursday in Italy. Police in Naples found more than 200 tubes in discount shops, Ansa, the Italian news agency, reported. In one shop, 75 tubes were found after a man reported that his throat and gums became inflamed after he used toothpaste he bought there. Thousands of tubes of toothpaste, most of it counterfeiting the Colgate brand name, have been seized since Saturday. Investigators said harmful substances have been found, but did not release details. Counterfeit toothpaste has also been seized in...

Toxic chemicals found in fake toothpaste By staff and agencies Last Updated: 4:23pm BST 12/07/2007 Toxic chemical traces have been found in contaminated fake Sensodyne toothpaste sold in the UK, the medicines watchdog has warned. The affected batch was sold at markets and car boot sales but not in shops The affected batch was sold at markets and car boot sales but not in shops, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said. All tubes of Sensodyne contaminated with toxic levels of diethylene glycol should be throw away. The affected products are fake Sensodyne Original and Sensodyne Mint sold...

China Planning a Surreal Facade for Summer Olympic Games: Beijing 2008 By John E. Carey Peace and Freedom July 9, 2007Few could have anticipated the run of bad publicity, crises and scandals that China has weathered since about last winter or spring. First, pets in America became sick and many died. The illness was traced to Chinese-made pet food laced with a fertilizer component named melamine. Companies in China had illegally added melamine to wheat gluten and rice protein in a bid to meet the contractual demand for the amount of protein in the pet food products.After that, the Food and...

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...

WASHINGTON – While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued consumer warnings to avoid using potentially deadly Chinese-made toothpaste, the Chinese government continued to deny there was any danger from the contaminant diethylene glycol – a solvent used in antifreeze that killed 107 Americans when it was introduced in an elixir 70 years ago. The FDA yesterday urged consumers to check labels for toothpaste made in China – and throw them away. The agency is concerned the products may contain "diethylene glycol," also known as "diglycol" or "diglycol stearate." Though the FDA is not aware of any U.S. reports of...

Federal authorities have discovered at a Silver Spring, Md., discount store fake "Colgate" toothpaste contaminated with the same poisonous chemical that has been found in some Chinese toothpaste. Colgate's legitimate manufacturer, the Colgate-Palmolive Co., which is the world's largest toothpaste maker, yesterday warned that the counterfeit product, labeled as being manufactured in South Africa, was found in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania as well as in Silver Spring. Food and Drug Administration inspectors found the toothpaste containing diethylene glycol at the Dollar Power Store on 16th Street in Silver Spring. Diethylene glycol is a poison used in antifreeze and...

<p>FDA tests found antifreeze chemical; agency unsure if items are counterfeit.</p> <p>Five-ounce tubes of toothpaste labeled Colgate and sold in discount stores in four states are being recalled because they may contain a poisonous chemical, according to the importer. A Food and Drug Administration official, Doug Arbesfeld, confirmed that testing had found the chemical in a product with the Colgate label. But he said the agency is unsure if it is really Colgate or a counterfeit.</p>

Five-ounce tubes of toothpaste labeled Colgate and sold in discount stores in four states are being recalled because they may contain a poisonous chemical, according to the importer. A Food and Drug Administration official, Doug Arbesfeld, confirmed that testing had found the chemical in a product with the Colgate label. But he said the agency is unsure if it is really Colgate or a counterfeit.

In the wake of WND's report of the long, deadly history of Chinese-made toothpaste, a Florida company today issued a nationwide recall for toothpaste it imported from China and distributed to wholesalers, warning the product could contain a poisonous chemical. Though no injuries or illnesses have been reported, Gold City Enterprise LLC of Hallandale Beach acknowledged the roughly 170,000 recalled toothpaste products may have the contaminant diethylene glycol – a solvent used in antifreeze that killed 107 Americans when it was introduced in an elixir 70 years ago. The company is urging consumers to stop using the products and throw...

Toothless border control Palm Beach Post Editorial Wednesday, June 06, 2007 In April, tainted wheat gluten from China turned up in pet food that killed hundreds of dogs and cats in the United States and Canada. Last week, Chinese imports threatened the health of humans. The Food and Drug Administration warned consumers about toothpaste from China - some of it sold in Miami - that is contaminated with a chemical used in antifreeze. The FDA said the products had a "low but meaningful risk of toxicity and injury." The United States thus becomes the seventh country to find tainted Chinese...

Consumers were advised on Friday to discard all toothpaste made in China after federal health officials said they found Chinese-made toothpaste containing a poison related to a chemical used in antifreeze in three locations — Miami, the Port of Los Angeles and Puerto Rico. Although there are no reports of anyone being harmed by the toothpaste, the Food and Drug Administration warned that the Chinese products have a “low but meaningful risk of toxicity and injury” to children and people with kidney or liver disease. The United States is the seventh country to find tainted Chinese toothpaste within its borders...

While Americans are recovering from a scandal over poison pet foods imported from China, FDA inspectors report tainted food imports intended for American humans are being rejected with increasing frequency, as they are filthy, are contaminated with pesticides and tainted with carcinogens, bacteria and banned drugs.