Colgate Toothpaste Category Archive

Whoever made the bogus Colgate toothpaste that was the focus of so much attention last month was a busy guy. Tubes are still being found. In this case, thousands of tubes in Mozambqiue. The spelling errors are still there, but again, they are different from the ones we found in Canada and then again from those in the United States.

The typos are real zingers.

Health Canada has pulled a set of sleep aids off the market because they contain a habit-forming ingredient, clonazepam, that is not listed on the labelling. These products have not even been submitted for approval by Health Canada.

The Health Canada advisory does not mention the ties to China, though. So I'll describe them.

Not every consumer warning is legitimate. Especially ones that are forwarded by email. In this case, an old standard -- that major name brand lipsticks are going to kill you because of high lead levels -- is making the rounds again.

But in this environment of heightened sensitivity to hidden dangers in consumer goods, such as with the counterfeit Colgate toothpaste, these old hoaxes are getting a new lease on life.

You would have hoped that with all the press on the issue of Chinese toothpaste spiked with diethylene glycol and counterfeit Colgate toothpaste teeming with bacteria normally associated with sewage, dollar stories would be much more careful concerning the health care products they put on their shelves.

I visited a dollar store (not the same one in which I found the counterfeit Colgate) and found a toothpaste, clearly not for the Canadian market, and clearly not allowed to be put on the store shelves and sold.

How do I know that this product was not fit to be sold? Trust me when I say it was so obvious.

A retrospective on the recalls of products that have happened in Canada makes a comment that speaks to the potential of blogging to tip stories and to change behaviour.

Test results continue to roll in. More species of bacteria are being found in the counterfeit Colgate toothpaste sold in Canada. And Health Canada says that the additional contamination poses a "serious health risk".

After making the local papers as an idiot extraordinaire, a Cambridge man considers what would have lead to serious bacterial contamination of counterfeit toothpaste. His conclusions are quite revolting.

The Chinese government has announced the results of an audit into corruption in a recently dismantled oral hygiene organization. These changes are not likely to do much to combat the counterfeiting problem.

The good news is that the counterfeit Colgate toothpaste I found in an "Everything for a Dollar" store in Guelph, the tube that became national news, did not register for diethylene glycol.

The bad news is that it contains high levels of dangerous bacteria.

A reporter for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle wonders if the Colgate website listed on the counterfeit toothpaste boxes is itself legitimate. It might not be a great website, but the registration information seems legitimate. And I can't see how the aliasing could have been faked.

Health Canada has stated that the counterfeit Colgate toothpaste found in Canada is not the same as the product found in the United States. Health Canada has not said how it is different, though. While we wait, I can describe one interesting detail in the toothpaste in my possession that might explain just what is going on here.

It looks like FHT Enterprises, the company that allegedly imported to the counterfeit toothpaste that is now the centre of a Health Canada probe, specializes in importing cables and DVDs and video games.

First the Globe and Mail, then several radio interviews, and now two TV spots for CTV and CBC (Radio Canada). I suppose it's fair to say that the story of the counterfeit Colgate toothpaste I bought in Guelph has been noticed.

The fake Colgate toothpaste has turned up in Ontario and Florida and Kentucky.

I don't necessarily buy into this theory, but it does explain why the counterfeit toothpaste is in tubes that look completely correct, but why the cardboard outer packaging is littered with errors.

If this theory is true, however, it strongly suggests that the Colgate toothpaste tube I have contains diethylene glycol. It also suggests that it did not start out as a counterfeit.

Within a day of my call to Colgate Canada about the tube of toothpaste I picked up at the local dollar store, all the tubes have disappeared.

I just got off the phone with a very helpful customer service representative at Colgate Canada, and she confirms that this product is not theirs.

Update #1: Colgate Canada says this isn't their product and wants to get their hands on the tube.

Update #2: It looks like Colgate Canada is quietly picking up the faux toothpaste.

Update #3: The story has been picked up by the main stream media and is spreading quickly across Canada.

Colgate insists that it does not import toothpaste into the United States from South Africa. Any such products are counterfeits, and might contain diethylene glycol, a component of antifreeze known to be toxic to humans.

So I have to ask myself, why is it that Colgate imports South African toothpaste into Canada? Or is the toothpaste I am holding in my hand also a counterfeit? And is it poisonous?

Over a week ago I warned people to be suspicious of all toothpaste. The recall by the FDA covered only Chinese-made products, but I found an interview with a Chinese official in which he insisted that Colgate toothpaste was made in China. Colgate had said that this was untrue.

So was I wrong to be concerned?

It looks like I was ahead of the news by a week. A report today that contaminated Colgate toothpaste is being hunted down by American authorities. But as it turns out, it is counterfeit toothpaste. Authorities haven't determined the point of origin yet. Any guesses?

Breaking: Ersatz Colgate toothpaste in the United States might contain DEG. And I just bought a suspicious tube of toothpaste in my local dollar store in Canada.

The latest outrage from China is the export of toothpaste using a poisonous component of antifreeze, diethylene glycol, as a thickener. The FDA has blocked all imports of Chinese-made toothpaste into the United States.

The FDA also recommended that consumers with tubes of Chinese-made toothpaste dispose of the products immediately.

I use Colgate toothpaste, and I checked the label. Made in Mexico. Sounds fine, except for the fact that in this interview, an extremely senior Chinese Communist Party official, Cheng Siwei, brags about how Colgate toothpaste used by Americans is made in China.

Curious. And disturbing.

Breaking: Ersatz Colgate toothpaste in the United States might contain DEG. And I just bought a suspicious tube of toothpaste in my local dollar store in Canada.

Brush your teeth...and die! Thanks to Chinese quality controls. On the other hand, the toothy grin on the skull-and-crossbones has never looked so bright and shiny.

The Chinese government is weighing in on the pet food contamination that has been linked to imported wheat gluten. Not surprisingly, the Chinese are insisting they were not responsible.