Canadians warned about tainted and fake toothpaste

Canadians are being warned about a counterfeit toothpaste on sale in stores which contains harmful ingredients.

Health Canada has warned consumers that the toothpaste, labeled as 100 ml Colgate Fluoride Toothpaste Herbal, Colgate Fluoride Toothpaste Gel, and Colgate Fluoride Toothpaste Maximum Cavity Protection, possibly contain very high levels of harmful bacteria.

The tainted toothpaste was first found at a dollar store in Guelph, Ontario in the middle of June and a store in Halifax also sold eight tubes of the toothpaste.

According to Health Canada, the toothpaste is easy to distinguish because it has spelling mistakes on the labels such as "SOUTH AFRLCA" and "South African Dental Assoxiation."

Health Canada has also alerted the public about toothpaste from China which contains diethylene glycol (DEG) which is a poisonous chemical used in antifreeze and as a solvent.

The tainted toothpaste could cause nausea, abdominal pain, dizziness, urinary problems, kidney failure, breathing problems, lethargy, convulsions, coma and even death when ingested and while toothpaste is not usually swallowed, it is often swallowed by young children.

Health Canada says the potential health risks from chronic exposure to DEG are a particular concern in specific vulnerable populations such as children and consumers with kidney or liver disease.

The DEG-containing toothpastes identified to date are labeled primarily in Chinese and were found in Chinese markets and dollar stores across the country and the products have not been approved for sale by Health Canada.

Health Canada has asked retailers to remove all Chinese toothpaste from their shelves and a customs alert was issued June 5, 2007 to the Canada Border Services Agency to stop shipments of toothpaste originating from China.

Consumers need to be aware that there are no fluoride-containing toothpastes approved for sale in Canada that are manufactured in China.

Consumers in possession of any of the tainted toothpastes are advised to discontinue using them immediately and ensure that these products remain out of the reach of children and should return the product to the store they bought it from.

Consumers requiring more information about this advisory can check http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/toothpaste.html or contact Health Canada's public enquiries line at (613) 957-2991, or toll free at 1-866-225-0709.