Tainted Toothpaste From China

noreply@blogger.com (Open Mindz) — Fri, 25 May 2007 15:23:00 +0000

Food and Drug Administration officials announced they’ll be checking all shipments coming from China following reports of tainted toothpaste in Latin America. Authorities in the Dominican Republic seized tubes of toothpaste that were suspected of containing diethylene glycol. Diethylene glycol is an ingredient used in antifreeze. Tainted toothpaste has also been reported in Panama and Australia.

Diethylene glycol is the same solvent that killed at least 100 people in Panama after it was mixed into cold medicine last year. Panamanian officials determined that the diethylene glycol was labeled as glycerin in that case. The mis-labeled shipments originated in China. Although glycerin is a chemical cousin to diethylene glycol, it is considered harmless.

U.S. officials say they have not found any contaminated toothpaste in the United States, but this latest contamination scare comes on the heel of the tainted pet food debacle. Thousands of U.S. pets were sickened after eating pet food from China that was contaminated with melamine.

This brings to question, when will our government begin to get serious about food safety in the U.S? After the pet food contamination, all ingestible products from China should have automatically come under closer scrutiny. China’s government does not seem equipped to tighten controls over its manufacturers and exporters as they continue to use toxins and fake ingredients. If China can not guarantee that its products are safe, why is our government allowing these products to continue coming into our country? There are toothpastes that are not imported from China so this is not necessarily a product that we need to get from that country. It looks like my family will be switching to an organic, American-made toothpaste since the FDA is not serious about our safety!

Health Watch

Tainted Toothpaste From China