June 2, 2007

Toxic Toothpaste Made in China Is Found in U.S.
By WALT BOGDANICH

Consumers were advised yesterday to discard all toothpaste made in China after federal health officials said they found Chinese-made toothpaste containing a poison used in some 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 had 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 in recent weeks.

Agency officials said they found toothpaste containing a small amount of diethylene glycol, a sweet, syrupy poison, at a Dollar Plus retail store in Miami, sold under the brand name ShiR Fresh Mint Fluoride Paste. The F.D.A. also identified nine other brands of Chinese toothpaste that contain diethylene glycol, some with concentrations of 3 percent to 4 percent.

Previously, only a few brands had been identified by health officials around the world as containing diethylene glycol and all of them listed the chemical on the label.

But diethylene glycol was not listed on the label of the toothpaste found in the Miami store. Its presence was detected only because the F.D.A. began testing imported Chinese toothpaste last month. That precaution was prompted by the discovery in Latin America of tens of thousands of tubes of tainted toothpaste made in China.

Over the years, counterfeiters have found it profitable to substitute diethylene glycol for its chemical cousin, glycerin, which is usually more expensive. Glycerin is a safe additive commonly found in food, drugs and household products. In toothpaste, glycerin is used as a thickening agent.

Chinese regulators said Thursday that their investigation of toothpaste manufacturers there had found they had done nothing wrong. Chinese officials also said that while small amounts of diethylene glycol could be safely used in toothpaste, new controls would be imposed on its use in toothpaste.

The F.D.A. said diethylene glycol in any amount was not suitable for use in toothpaste.

The agency said two Chinese companies, Goldcredit International Trading and the Suzhou City Jinmao Daily Chemicals Company, made the tainted brands found in the United States.

In a statement yesterday, federal health officials called diethylene-glycol poisoning “an important public safety issue.” The Panamanian government last year inadvertently mixed the poison made in China into 260,000 bottles of cold medicine, killing at least 100 people, prosecutors there said.

In that case, Chinese regulators acknowledged on Thursday that two companies in China had “engaged in some misconduct” in the way they labeled and sold the diethylene glycol, but they said a Panamanian importer bore most of the blame.

Last month, after publicity over the poisoning deaths from the cold medicine, a consumer in Panama noticed that toothpaste in a store listed diethylene glycol as an ingredient and notified the authorities. Eventually it was traced to China, and since then countries around the world have been on the lookout for the product.

In addition to the United States and Panama, tainted toothpaste has been found in Australia, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Chinese exports of toothpaste to the United States account for $3.3 million out of a $2 billion-dollar market in America, F.D.A. officials said. “The scope of this is fairly small when you look at all the toothpaste that is consumed in the U.S.,” Doug Arbesfeld, an agency spokesman, said.

The agency said Chinese-made brands with diethylene glycol were typically sold at low-cost, “bargain” retail outlets. A man answering the phone at the Dollar Plus store in Miami, identified by federal officials as selling the Chinese toothpaste, said he did not want to be interviewed because his English was poor. The man, who did not give his name, said federal inspectors came to his store yesterday.

Mr. Arbesfeld said that six tubes were confiscated there and that several more were found at the store’s distributor. Those tubes were destroyed. F.D.A. officials also said they had confiscated several brands of toothpaste at the Port of Los Angeles and at a retail store in Puerto Rico.

The agency said toothpaste containing diethylene glycol was sold under the names Cooldent Fluoride, Cooldent Spearmint, Cooldent ICE, Dr. Cool, Superdent, Clean Rite, Oralmax Extreme, Oral Bright, Bright Max, and ShiR Fresh Mint.

First dog food and now toothpaste........what else can they mess up?

First dog food and now toothpaste........what else can they mess up?

Everything and anything our congress critters permit to be imported into the U.S.A. Food is next. Watch only a few brands of toothpaste were listed. A week later more will be added to the list. What irritates me is that China stated that U.S. was irresponsible in issuing a warning about the toothpaste! They claim it isn’t harmful!

First dog food and now toothpaste........what else can they mess up?

Vitamin C, perhaps:

NPR: Food Imports from China

The FDA warning also included:

“No major brand names are affected, regulators said.

Agency officials said they found toothpaste containing a small amount of diethylene glycol, a sweet, syrupy poison, at a Dollar Plus retail store in Miami, sold under the brand name ShiR Fresh Mint Fluoride Paste. The FDA also identified nine other brands of Chinese toothpaste that contain diethylene glycol, some with concentrations of 3 percent to 4 percent.

The agency said toothpaste containing diethylene glycol was sold under the names Cooldent Fluoride, Cooldent Spearmint,
Cooldent ICE, Dr. Cool, Superdent, Clean Rite, Oralmax Extreme, Oral Bright, Bright Max, and ShiR Fresh Mint.”

Consumables made “in-house” have to follow a laundry list of laws and regulations before they hit the market (accidents do happen) however imported consumables do not follow the same rules and regulations and accidents usually happen.

Nothing against the ‘dollar store’ industry, which is booming btw, but did you ever wonder why some off brand consumable (edible) item there costs a buck but the brand version costs 3-4 or more times in a regulated grocery store? (Dont say the stores are gouging)

The FDA warning also included:

“No major brand names are affected, regulators said.

No major brand names were mentioned in the beginning when the tainted dog/cat food was announced. As the days/weeks went by a lot of top name brand pet foods were involved! Like I said earlier, give it time.

Agency officials said they found toothpaste containing a small amount of diethylene glycol, a sweet, syrupy poison, at a Dollar Plus retail store in Miami, sold under the brand name ShiR Fresh Mint Fluoride Paste. The FDA also identified nine other brands of Chinese toothpaste that contain diethylene glycol, some with concentrations of 3 percent to 4 percent.

The agency said toothpaste containing diethylene glycol was sold under the names Cooldent Fluoride, Cooldent Spearmint,
Cooldent ICE, Dr. Cool, Superdent, Clean Rite, Oralmax Extreme, Oral Bright, Bright Max, and ShiR Fresh Mint.”

Consumables made “in-house” have to follow a laundry list of laws and regulations before they hit the market (accidents do happen) however imported consumables do not follow the same rules and regulations and accidents usually happen.

Nothing against the ‘dollar store’ industry, which is booming btw, but did you ever wonder why some off brand consumable (edible) item there costs a buck but the brand version costs 3-4 or more times in a regulated grocery store? (Dont say the stores are gouging)

I have suggested for years not purchasing anything unless it was produced in the U.S.A. You’re safer and you’re keeping Americans employed!

Buying American isn’t a solution if their products are made up of imported components.  As the NPR article above states:

Leo Hepner, a food-ingredient consultant based in London, says vitamin C is a good example.

“The price in 1995 was $15 per kilogram,” Hepner says. “Today, the price from China is $3.50.”

No one can compete with that. So most Western producers of vitamin C have shut down.

That’s globalization. But there’s a hidden price for cheap goods. Earlier this year, lead-contaminated multivitamins showed up on the shelves of U.S. retailers. And this spring, vitamin A from China contaminated with dangerous bacteria nearly ended up in European baby food.

It’s bound to happen more often. Hubbard says the agency is overwhelmed by the rising tide of imports.

“When I came to the FDA in the 1970s, the food program was almost half of the FDA’s budget. Today, it’s only a quarter,” Hubbard says.

Experts say the FDA has about 650 food inspectors to cover 60,000 domestic food producers and 418 ports of entry.

The agency plans to close nearly half of its 13 food-testing labs.

All that means food safety depends on the vigilance of food companies operating in a fast-changing world. Many companies may not know much about their suppliers.

Earlier this month, the FDA wrote a letter to food manufacturers reminding them of their legal responsibility to make sure all the ingredients they use are safe. Don’t depend on FDA testing, the letter says.

Jean Halloran agrees. She’s director of food safety for Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports. She has some advice for food companies.

“I think you have a responsibility to get on a plane and go over there, and see the plant where that’s being manufactured, so that you can see for yourself whether there’s a polluted water supply coming into the facility, whether lead-bearing paint chips might be falling into the vats of whatever you’re purchasing,” she says.

But consumers who want to find out where food is coming from or what American companies are doing to safeguard it might not have much luck.

Four years ago, Congress passed a law requiring food to be labeled for its country-of-origin. But that doesn’t extend to individual food ingredients.

And when NPR asked major food companies where they get their ingredients and how they test them, companies either didn’t respond or said those matters are proprietary secrets.

Michael Doyle heads the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia and consults for Con-Agra, a leading food producer. He says there’s a lot of variation in companies’ trustworthiness.

“Some of the major brand companies I know are very proactive in addressing food safety,” he says. “Some others are not.”

Often, he says, consumers have to take a company’s word that its food is safe.

“And unfortunately, that’s what the FDA has to do, too,” Doyle says.

JH - 05 June 2007 12:49 AM

The FDA warning also included:

“No major brand names are affected, regulators said. 

No major brand names were mentioned in the beginning when the tainted dog/cat food was announced. As the days/weeks went by a lot of top name brand pet foods were involved! Like I said earlier, give it time.

Sure, you can assume that it will propogate to mainstream brands based upon the past. China makes a claim it was at the fault of a component they got from another country, which could be wholly true - we don’t and wont know - They certainly admitted fault in the pet food screw up but the average American Joe has no recourse besides not buying Chinese made pet food again.  Many American manufacturers have already cut ties with China suppliers. But you are right - time will tell, but I think in my opinion all is said about this that has been said. Another thorn in China - US relations.

The animal consumable market is not regulated the same as the one for humans, so its easy to see something like that happen.  I know what I use is made by Proctor and Gamble, and not made overseas so it follows whats in place to protect consumers.

The bottom line is spoken where you spend your dollar.

Gotta tell ya, my husband and I are too busy right now to watch TV or read the newspapers (still have a stack of books I want to get to someday - besides weed wacker, dishwasher,lawnmower manuals - not exactly pleasure reading) I still haven’t figured out my cell phone, and last week after having it on my waistband all day (around back) I heard ‘Hello?!? Hello?!’ I thought, oh great, now my butt is speaking to me (it’s going to say stay away from pizza), but the phone had actually dialed Home Depot, the last call I made.  Next phone will be a flip phone, no keys displayed.
Sorry to digress, but, we’ll all die of something...toothpaste, hopefully not from eating dog food, comets, lightning, terrorists, e-coli, McDonalds, drivers that drive right on the yellow line, Sushi that is not fresh, a big rock when we’re digging in the yard to plant something that causes a heart attack, rabid dog bites, in-home invaders, Spider mites, cat bites (doesn’t this sound like a Billy Joel song? - We didn’t start the fire).

My point is, this life is only an 1/18th of an inch compared to Eternity.  Don’t sweat the small stuff.  Even death is small, compared to Eternity. 
Think dying by toothpaste is bad?  Try a Cross.

life is only an 1/18th of an inch compared to Eternity

An interesting calculation - I’ll keep that in mind! 

Buying American isn’t a solution if their products are made up of imported components.  As the NPR article above states:

Congress supposedly took care of this problem at least a decade ago when they passed a bill requiring all products must list point of origin of manufacturing as well as if other countries are involved in the manufacturing of the product. Take for example shoes-- many times most of the shoe will be made in one country while the leather part was made in another. The labeling of the product will state this.

See above:

Four years ago, Congress passed a law requiring food to be labeled for its country-of-origin. But that doesn’t extend to individual food ingredients.

Wgal is now reporting a new toothpaste recall:

Africa-Imported Toothpaste Recalled
Toothpaste Labeled Colgate, Thought To Be Counterfeit

POSTED: 8:52 am EDT June 14, 2007
WASHINGTON—The Colgate–Palmolive Company said Thursday that counterfeit toothpaste has been found in discount stores in four states.

The 5-ounce tubes of imported toothpaste, labeled Colgate, have been recalled.

The importer said they may contain a poisonous chemical found in antifreeze.

A Food and Drug Administration official confirmed that testing determined that the chemical, diethylene glycol, was found in a product with the Colgate label.

But he said the agency is unsure if it is really Colgate or a counterfeit. “Made in South Africa” is printed on the box.

MS USA Trading, of North Bergen, N.J., said the toothpaste was imported from South Africa and sold in discount stores in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Colgate said it does not import toothpaste into the United States from South Africa.

It also said no illnesses have been reported to date.

The same chemical has led to the recall of several brands of toothpaste imported from China in recent weeks.

Colgate said consumers who think they may have bought counterfeit product can call Colgate toll free at 1-800-468-6502.

Now poisonous toys

don’t forget the Thomas The Train recalll from last month… from China…

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07212.html

Unfortunately, another Chinese recall:

Recall of Halloween teeth