FDA to monitor toothpaste from China

[catgirl]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials are beginning to check all shipments of toothpaste coming from China, following reports of tainted products in other countries, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.

The Food and Drug Administration has no evidence that contaminated toothpaste has made its way into the United States but is taking the step as a precaution, agency spokesman Doug Arbesfeld said.

China -- the second-largest exporter of toothpaste to the United States behind Canada, according to the FDA -- has been at the forefront of growing concerns about its standards as well as the U.S. government's ability to monitor foods and other products.

-snip-

t was not immediately clear which brands of toothpaste sold in the Unites States are made in China.

A representative of Johnson & Johnson's McNeil-PPC Inc., which makes Rembrandt toothpaste, could not be immediately reached.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/china_toothpaste_fda_dc;_ylt=AtLPpi2YbaJQd9K6H6cEr.XMWM0F

---

The FDA needs to release a list of companies who get their toothpaste from China
ASAP.

[Blue Gardener]

1. Toothpaste from China?

We can't even make our own G**damn toothpaste?! :grr:

[catgirl]

2. China and Canada are the biggest manufacturers of toothpaste.

Tom's of Maine is a great choice.

[Blue Gardener]

3. Canada I trust to not poison the toothpaste

I have no faith that what we receive from China is of good quality.

[Ice4Clark]

5. Glycerin Syrup from China that was used in cold meds

Two weeks ago, The New York Times reported that a Chinese factory not certified to make pharmaceutical ingredients had sold 46 barrels of syrup containing diethylene glycol that had been falsely labeled as 99.5 percent pure glycerin. That syrup passed through several trading companies before ending up in Panama, where it was mixed into 260,000 bottles of cold medicine.

At least 100 people died as a direct result, according to Dimas Guevara, a Panamanian prosecutor who is leading the investigation into the deaths.

[electron_blue]

20. But what if Canada is using tainted ingredients from China?

[LifeDuringWartime]

17. I only use Tom's

anything with artificial sweeteners makes me queasy

[jmm]

23. I grew up using Tom's

My brother and I hated the taste but our mom didn't think it made sense for us to brush our teeth with bubble gum flavored sweetener. I haven't used Tom's in years but I do think she was onto something.

[NYC]

24. Tom's of Maine was sold to Colgate-Palmolive.

Our company has grown a lot since 1970! In 2006, we entered into a partnership with the Colgate-Palmolive Company (read Tom and Kate's letter explaining how and why this decision was made) and are now an independently run division of that company. But nothing else has changed. Tom and Kate remain CEO and vice president, and our approach remains simple and direct. We listen to what our customers want (and don't want) in their products, we learn how it can be done, and we respond with intelligent natural alternatives.

http://www.tomsofmaine.com/about/history.asp

[Ice4Clark]

4. Colgate and Crest are made in USA, no imports on those

This is all I could find so far:


A representative of Johnson & Johnson's McNeil-PPC Inc., which makes Rembrandt toothpaste, could not be immediately reached.

A spokeswoman for Colgate-Palmolive, maker of Colgate toothpaste, said the company did not import toothpaste into the United States from China.

A Procter & Gamble spokeswoman said Crest brand toothpaste was American-made.

A spokeswoman for GlaxoSmithKline Plc's consumer unit, which makes Aquafresh, had no immediate comment.

[watrwefitinfor]

6. But how many ingredients do they import from China to make it with?

And if they import their toothpaste from Canada, how many Chinese ingredients did Canada use to make it? Or did Canada import it directly from China before sending on to us?

Those are the questions that need asking, but they won't be.

This is exactly what "Free Trade" now means!

Wat

[catgirl]

7. Good point

It's not neccessarily where it's made. The melamine (from China) in the pet food is the killer
ingredient. How many toothpaste manufacturers use "glycerin" from China?

[aquart]

8. What about Sensodyne?

[aquart]

9. Answering my own question: label says Made in America.

[Shallah Kali]

26. yet are the ingredents from the USA? It is assembled in America but what is the source of ingredient

Look at clothing labels which will say things like Made (or Assembled) in America in large print and then underneath it will say in smaller print 'of materials from Costa Rica. Some companies do engage in weasel-wording labels whether it is meat labeled 98% fat free when it is over half fat when measured by calories instead of the USDA allowed weight measurement or saying things are low-sodium when they have almost the 1 day limit of salt but because it is lower in sodium than another version of the product this label is allowed.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

22. Crest is lying - made in Mexico - imagine that a US corporation prevaricating to sell its product:

Crest Multicare Whitening Fluoride Anticavity Toothpaste, Fresh Mint
Made in Mexico
http://www.walgreens.com/beauty/product.jsp?CATID=100212&navAction=jump&navCount=0&id=prod1472

[NYC]

25. Colgate makes and sells toothpaste in China.

I have no idea where the ingredients for their American toothpaste come from.

# High Note Says:
May 24th, 2007 at 5:49 pm

Colgate says they do not import toothpaste from China
well here are some of their plants in China:
http:/www.mindbranch.com/prod-toc/Toothpaste-R263-26991
READ ON
Conscious Consumers
China
Toothpaste Market
China-Largest Producer of Toothpaste in the World
Consumer Trends
Leading Players and Their Market Shares in the Recent
Past
Table 101: Market Share of Leading Toothpaste
Manufacturers in China in the Recent Past (2001):
Guangzhou Colgate-Palmolive Co Ltd, Procter & Gamble
(China) Company, Tianjin Liantian Group Stock Co Ltd,
Dencare (Chongqing) Oral Care Co Ltd, Guangzhou Masson
Group Corporation, Colpal Chemical Industrial Co Ltd
and Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 102: Market Share of Leading Anti-Cavity
Toothpaste Manufacturers in China in the Recent Past
(2001): Guangzhou Colgate-Palmolive Co Ltd, Shanghai
Unilever Toothpaste Co Ltd., Liuzhou Liangmianzhen Co
Ltd, Tianjin Liantian Group Stock Co Ltd, Procter &
Gamble (China) Company, Guangzhou Masson Group
Corporation and Others (includes corresponding
Graph/Chart)

Table 103: Market Share of Leading Herbal Toothpaste
Manufacturers in China in the Recent Past (2001):
Shanghai Unilever Toothpaste Co Ltd, Guangzhou
Colgate-Palmolive Co Ltd, Liuzhou Liangmianzhen Co
Ltd, Procter & Gamble (China) Company, Guangzhou
Masson Group Corporation and Others (includes
corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 104: Market Shares of Leading Whitening
Toothpaste Manufacturers in China in the Recent Past
(2001): Guangzhou Colgate-Palmolive Co Ltd, Procter &
Gamble (China) Company, Shanghai Unilever Toothpaste
Co Ltd, Liuzhou Liangmianzhen Co Ltd and Others
(includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 105: Percentage Shares of Leading Players in
Mouth Rinse Market in China in the Recent Past (2001):
ORAL-B (Shanghai) Co Ltd, Guangzhou Masson Group
Corporation, Tianjin Liantian Group Stock Co Ltd and
Others (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 106: Market Shares of Leading Toothpaste Brands
in China (Historic Data for 2000): Colgate, Zhonghua,
Crest, Signal, Liangmianzhen, Heimei, Legsuanling,
Liubizhi, Kangchiling and Others (includes
corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 107: Total Toothpaste Production Volume Breakup
of Leading Players in China in the Recent Past (2001):
Guangzhou Colgate-Palmolive Co Ltd, Procter & Gamble
(China) Company, Tianjin Liantian Group Stock Co Ltd,
Dencare (Chongqing) Oral Care Co Ltd, Guangzhou Masson
Group Corporation, Colpal Chemical Industrial Co Ltd
and Others (In million Yuan) (includes corresponding
Graph/Chart)

Table 108: Anti-Cavity Toothpaste Production Volume
Breakup of Leading Players in China in the Recent Past
(2001): Guangzhou Colgate-Palmolive Co Ltd, Shanghai
Unilever Toothpaste Co Ltd, Liuzhou Liangmianzhen Co
Ltd, Tianjin Liantian Group Stock Co Ltd, Procter &
Gamble (China) Company, Guangzhou and Masson Group
Corporation and Others (In million Yuan) (includes
corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 109: Herbal Toothpaste Production Volume Breakup
of Leading Players in China in the Recent Past (2001):
Shanghai Unilever Toothpaste Co Ltd, Guangzhou
Colgate-Palmolive Co Ltd, Liuzhou Liangmianzhen Co
Ltd, Procter & Gamble (China) Company and Guangzhou
Masson Group Corporation and Others (In million Yuan)
(includes corresponding Graph/Chart)

Table 110: Whitening Toothpaste Production Volume
Breakup of Leading Players in China in the Recent Past
(2001): Guangzhou Colgate- Palmolive Co Ltd, Procter &
Gamble (China) Company, Shanghai Unilever Toothpaste
Co Ltd, Liuzhou Liangmianzhen Co Ltd and Others (In
million Yuan) (includes corresponding Graph/Chart)





http://www.itchmo.com/read/lab-reports-cyanuric-acid-in-dry-food_20070524

[Bitwit1234]

10. FAIR TRADE yeahhhh

It seems that the United States buys everything it uses from foreign countries. WHAT DO THEY BUY FROM US.......................

[deminwi]

11. When will it stop

I try to buy as many American made products as I can because I still have faith that we are going to provide each other with the best and safest products possible. When are people going to wake up and stop buying so many of these slave labor Chinese products?

[ClintonTyree]

12. I don't trust anything from China anymore.....

the thing is we DON'T KNOW how much stuff we eat, drink, use for personal hygiene, medicate ourselves with etc. comes from China or is made in the U.S. with ingredients from China.

I say we test all this stuff on members of the Bush administration before it's allowed on the shelves of our stores. :)

[magellan]

13. US checks toothpaste for toxins - BBC News | World | Americas

Toothpaste is the latest Chinese export to raise safety concerns

Health officials in the United States say they are checking all shipments of toothpaste imported from China for contamination with toxic chemicals.

Panama and the Dominican Republic have reported finding diethylene glycol, a chemical used in engine coolants, in toothpaste from China.

snip...

Cough syrup containing diethylene glycol originating from China killed more than 50 people in Panama last year.

The New York Times said a Chinese chemical maker had sold the industrial-grade chemical as glycerine, which is often used as a moistener in products from toothpaste to soap and cosmetics.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6686627.stm

Chinese toothpaste makers say small amounts of diethylene glycol (a cheap alternative to glycerine) are harmless. I'll bet whoever in the US is paying for this toxic import agrees -- but uses another brand of toothpaste.

[davsand]

14. The US could solve this with one law.

All they need to do is pass a federal law that does not allow ANY products from _________ Country (who ever refuses to follow purity laws already in place) to be used in any product for consumption by US consumers. There need to be serious penalties for any corporation who violates that law by purchasing ingredients from these outlawed nations. If they can't follow laws they shouldn't be used here--PERIOD.

I'm sick unto death (rather a literal thing, I guess) of the idea of our safety being put on the line in the interests of politics and international relations.


I'm willing to bet that particular solution is not on the table, however...





Laura

[seven79]

15. Stop Making Sense

. . . besides, as we've found out the hard way . . .
just because they make a law before an election . . .
doesn't mean they enforce the law after the election

(example: Secure Fence Act signed into law in 2006)

[catgirl]

18. Link to article with China's response (Reuters)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070524/hl_nm/usa_china_food_dc;_ylt=AsFDu1qbFGRbHbiblknQUGvMWM0F

I love this line- "The U.S. side should abide by the WTO principle of minimizing the impact of health issues on trade ... and not take restrictive measures against all imported products of this kind," the report said.

"abide by the WTO principle". Ha! And fake liquor? So the poisons make you walk funny and you're supposed to believe that you're drunk? Aha.

[MGKrebs]

16. Not so much politics and relations as it is capitalism.

I guess it's politics in the sense that we don't regulate or enforce very many things if they might impact the PROFIT of corporations.

I might even suggest that it is a function of conservatism.
Conservatives are the ones who want to protect corporations to the point of irrationality. Increasing profits is the only goal, the only measure, and justifies pretty much anything.

Liberals, on the other hand, understand that corporations can, will, and do find ways to avoid being responsible for their actions, and therefore, we as a community need advocates to protect us. That is what our government is supposed to do. Liberals understand "community", the idea that even if something doesn't affect ME personally, it might affect someone else, and we act accordingly.

The conservative approach means cost cutting, quality degradation, little regulation, and less taxes- meaning less resources to enforce whatever regulations do get through. And this all leads to a general sense in society of a lack of appreciation for quality, longevity, investment, savings, history, thoughtfulness, and even justice.

I sometimes wonder about the "productivity" of the US. We often see numbers showing the US being among the most productive countries in the world, but I think the calculation they use is oversimplified. It is well known that Western European countries have higher tax rates, are more heavily unionized, have higher wages, have stricter environmental laws, and spend much more on cultural projects than we do, not to mention healthcare for everyone, and yet, European countries seem, in general, to be doing just fine. Daimler is dumping Chrysler because it's dragging down their profits. Air France does well while most US carriers are familiar with bankruptcy. In the most competitve industries, like phones and phone service, cars, electronics, and even oil, Europe is strong. How can they be competitive with all these extra burdens? Or perhaps more to the point, how can the US NOT be completely dominant in whatever industry we choose, given our relative lack of regulations, taxes, and wages?

[FogerRox]

19. Attention DUers

[Chico Man]

21. class warfare at it's finest

Soon only the rich will be able to buy wholesome, healthy products made here in the USA. All the rest will get to poison themselves with Chinese imports. And when they get sick, good luck finding health care.