Angry in the Great White North

On June 29, Health Canada released this warning concerning counterfeit Colgate toothpaste:

Health Canada is warning Canadians that counterfeit toothpaste products, falsely labelled as Colgate Fluoride Toothpaste Herbal and Colgate Fluoride Toothpaste Maximum Cavity Protection, have been found to contain high levels of harmful bacteria. These products have been found on the Canadian market and pose a significant risk to health, especially to children and individuals with compromised immune systems. Health Canada is assisting in the criminal investigation that is being conducted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

I was the one who found the toothpaste in a dollar store and who then tasted the product, expecting it to be contaminated with diethylene glycol. DEG might be poisonous, but it would also have sterilized the toothpaste.

Instead I gulped down a bead of toothpaste teeming with the sorts of bugs you find in sewage. I have a gross theory about that too.

So I figured my icky journey was finished. Of course I was wrong. Health Canada has released another notice.

That bacteria that they found? Still there. But now more types of bacteria have been identified:

2007-82
July 6, 2007
For immediate release
Additional serious harmful bacteria potentially found in counterfeit toothpaste

OTTAWA - Further to a warning issued on June 29, Health Canada is warning Canadians not to use a counterfeit product falsely labelled as Colgate Fluoride Toothpaste Maximum Cavity Protection. Ongoing testing has resulted in preliminary evidence of a further, potentially harmful bacterial contamination. If confirmed, the presence of this bacterium could pose a serious health risk.

Health Canada will notify Canadians if it is determined that there is a health risk once final testing is completed.

Consumers who have this counterfeit product are advised to discontinue use immediately and not to use their toothbrush. The product should be kept out of the reach of children. Consumers should seal the tube and put the tube in a sealed bag. They should also wash their hands after handling the tube. Health Canada will provide additional instructions on the proper disposal of the product if needed.

Consumers who have this product should contact Health Canada's Health Products and Food Branch Inspectorate at 1-800-267-9675.

The counterfeit product falsely labelled as Colgate Fluoride Toothpaste Maximum Cavity Protection is marked as 100 ml, and is labelled as "Manufactured in South Africa." It contains misspellings including "isclinically" "SOUTH AFRLCA" and "South African Dental Assoxiation."

This counterfeit toothpaste product was found in the discount chain "Everything for a Dollar Store." Canadian distributors are cooperating in the investigation and have removed the product from their shelves.

Genuine Colgate toothpaste approved for sale in Canada is safe and is labelled in English and French. Additionally, fluoride-containing toothpaste that has been approved for sale in Canada will contain either an eight-digit Drug Identification Number (DIN) or a Natural Product Number (NPN).

Testing for biological contamination is more time consuming than testing for chemical contamination. For chemicals, pass a sample through a GC and study the profile of elements and compounds detected.

But for bacteria, you have put a bit of the suspect material on various types of growth media. Then you wait. If present, different bacteria will grow at different rates. Nothing can be done to accelerate the process. Then you go through a process of staining and microscopic examination to try and identify the bacteria present.

So even more species of bacteria have been found.

Just great.

I wonder what the incubation time is for a bubonic plague screening?

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