The Gray Blog

Approximately 900,000 of tainted allegedly counterfeit toothpaste which are being recalled from public institutions in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.   Similar finds have been made in other parts of the country, including Puerto Rico, and abroad in Panama, the Dominican Republic and Australia.  Although initial reports stated that the product entered the US through parallel market sales, it is now unclear whether the case involves tainting of an entire supply chain including authorized and unauthorized resellers.

According to a report in the New York Times, drug distributor McKesson Corp said it was recalling its China-made EverFresh brand after it was identified as containing trace amounts of the chemical known as diethylene glycol, a compound used in anti-freeze. Officials from the FDA say that even a trace amount of this chemical could present potential health problems for young children and individuals with kidney conditions.

The manufacturers of these products were identified as Goldcredit International Enterprises Limited, Goldcredit International Trading Company Limited, and Suzhou City Jinmao Daily Chemicals Company Limited.   The counterfeit toothpaste is labeled made in China or, in the most recent finds, as “manufactured in South Africa”, with several misspellings such as ‘South Afrlca’ and ‘Dental Assoxiation’ on the packaging.  The product is sold under several brands including PACIFIC, Dentakleen, BrightMax, DentaPro, Dentakleen Junior and EVERFRESH.

More recently, tainted COLGATE brand toothpaste was also found.  In a press release last week Colgate categorically stated that it does not use, nor has ever used, diethylene glycol as a toothpaste ingredient.

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