Two people sick from counterfeit Colgate.
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(Staten Island - WABC, June 15, 2007) - Two Staten Islander residents were hospitalized after they became ill -- apparently from brushing their teeth with counterfeit Colgate toothpaste that is being recalled.
Eyewitness News is told the two, residents of the borough's New Brighton section, checked themselves in to Richmond University Medical Center to be evaluated last night. They believe the cause of their nausea and abdominal pain is the fake toothpaste they bought last month.
Officials say one of the two, Doris Harrell, said she developed nausea, stomach pain, dizziness and irregular bowel movements after using the toothpaste last week. She said it hurts taking breaths and she is throwing up the food. She hasn't eaten in days.
Harrell's cousin, Ricky Simmons, said he started using the toothpaste two weeks ago, and began feeling stomach pains after that.
Harrell said she bought the toothpaste last month at Neighborhood Discount Inc. at 432 Jersey Street, according to investigators.
The Colgate-Palmolive Co. on Thursday announced that 5-ounce tubes of counterfeit toothpaste sold in discount stores in four states, under a Colgate label, are being recalled because they may contain a poisonous chemical.
Food and Drug Administration officials say that testing had found the chemical in a product with the Colgate label, but said in the initial announcement that the FDA was unsure whether it really was Colgate or a counterfeit.
"We are aware that toothpaste is something that's been counterfeited in the past," Doug Arbesfeld said. "We don't want to alarm people unnecessarily."
MS USA Trading, Inc. of North Bergen, N.J., the importer involved in the initial recall announcement, said the toothpaste may contain diethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze. The company said the toothpaste, imported from South Africa, was sold in discount stores in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
"Made in South Africa" is printed on the box and includes Regular, Gel, Triple and Herbal versions.
The trading company said the problem was discovered in routine testing by the Food and Drug Administration. It 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.
Consumers who have purchased 5-ounce toothpaste under the Colgate label can return them to the place of purchase for a refund, MS USA Trading said.
Colgate-Palmolive issued a press release early Thursday saying the tubes are counterfeit.
The company said it does not use, nor has it ever used, diethylene glycol as an ingredient in Colgate toothpaste anywhere in the world.
"Colgate does not import toothpaste into the United States from South Africa," said the statement from Colgate-Palmolive. "In addition, the counterfeit packages examined so far have several misspellings including: 'isclinically,' 'SOUTH AFRLCA' and 'South African Dental Assoxiation.'...Counterfeit toothpaste is not manufactured or distributed by Colgate and has no connection with the company whatsoever."
But Colgate said consumers who suspect they may have purchased counterfeit product can call Colgate's toll-free number at 1-800-468-6502. -
UPDATE: Counterfeit Colgate Has Poisonous Chemical.
A chemical used in antifreeze has been found in tubes of counterfeit Colgate toothpaste, Colgate-Palmolive said yesterday.
The toothpaste was first found at a discount store in Silver Spring late last week, officials said. Investigators have since traced shipments of the toothpaste to stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. There have been no reports of anyone becoming sick after using it.
The toothpaste was found at the Dollar Power store in Silver Spring, said Douglas Arbesfeld, a spokesman for Food and Drug Administration. Investigators from the FDA began spot-checking toothpaste at retailers and distributors on May 31, after media reports that tainted toothpaste from China was found in the Dominican Republic, Australia and Panama. All Chinese toothpaste has been stopped at the border. "The burden of proof is on the importer to meet our rigorous criteria," Arbesfeld said.
China announced an overhaul of its food and drug safety regulations this month after international objections over contaminated exports. An ingredient imported from China tainted with melamine, a plastic material, was used in pet food made in the United States. The pet food was recalled.
On June 1, the FDA issued an alert about Chinese toothpaste, naming about a dozen minor brands on its Web site. Though the counterfeit tubes of Colgate were labeled as having been made in South Africa, FDA investigators became suspicious of misspellings such as "isclinically," "SOUTH AFRLCA" and "South Arican Dental Assoxiation" on the package.
Colgate-Palmolive has said it does not import toothpaste from South Africa.
Diethylene glycol (DEG), commonly used in antifreeze, is a cheap substitute for glycerin and was added to the counterfeit toothpaste to add texture. The chance of harm from DEG exposure through toothpaste is small, as the product is not meant to be swallowed, according to the FDA. Officials do warn of the potential for DEG to harm children who ingest small amounts of toothpaste, as well as patients with kidney and liver disease. Large amounts of the chemical could cause kidney failure.
DEG levels of 1 to 4 percent were found in brands of Chinese toothpaste that were banned by the FDA on June 1.
A 2000 Chinese study said DEG levels of up to 15.6 percent are tolerable. "We say that the potential risk here is low but meaningful. This stuff doesn't belong in toothpaste and has to come off the market," Arbesfeld said.
The shipments of counterfeit Colgate, distributed through MS USA Trading, of North Bergen, N.J., has been recalled. A person who answered MS USA Trading's phone declined to answer questions.
Most of the $2 billion worth of toothpaste sold in U.S. stores is made domestically. The United States imported about $3.5 million worth of Chinese toothpaste in 2006, according to the Commerce Department.
Large discount stores generally buy their products from manufacturers' distribution centers, where quality control is rigorous, said Kiley F. Rawlins, a spokeswoman for Family Dollar, a national chain. "It's the mom-and-pop stores that depend on wholesalers," she said.
An employee at the Dollar Power in Silver Spring said the store ordered the toothpaste from the MS USA Trading catalogue. "They check the quality, we just display. We don't check each item. This is a dollar store. We have thousands of items on display," she said. -
wah? hahaha.
fake colgate -
How thick are those ppl. Why buy fake toothpaste
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I find that the words "counterfeit" and "China" often appear on the same page. Coincidence?
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*shake head*
*puts newspaper down* -
Update
Massachusetts issues tainted toothpaste warning
BOSTON (CNN) -- The Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued an advisory Friday, the same day Panama announced that hundreds of poisoning cases were linked to diethylene glycol.
Massachusetts warned consumers to not use the following potentially harmful toothpastes:
- Any toothpaste labeled "Made in China"
- Any toothpaste labeled "Colgate" that is manufactured in South Africa
- And any toothpaste without English-language labeling.
The warning came on the same day that officials in Panama said they had recorded 540 cases of poisoning linked to toothpaste and other health products in that country.
Dimas Guevara, a special Panamanian prosecutor, said 83 deaths had been linked to diethylene glycol, a chemical used in antifreeze, which was in the products.
Massachusetts Health officials pointed to the same chemical, saying toothpastes from China and other counterfeit Colgate (down $0.11 to $65.94, Charts, Fortune 500) toothpastes sold in Massachusetts may contain diethylene glycol.
Suspect toothpastes were located mainly in small and discount-type stores from Boston to some western suburbs, the agency said.
Although the warning is being issued, Massachusetts health officials said they are not aware of any poisonings.
In Panama, Guevara said 15 people had been indicted so far in connection with tainted toothpaste and other health products produced in Panama.
He said four categories of products were found to be contaminated - cough syrup, toothpaste, calamine lotion and a drug called deifreidamina. He said the products were only available in Panama and there were no exports.