Counterfeit Colgate Toothpaste: Crisis Summary & Updates

Updated October 31, 2007

Since May 2007, reports of potentially toxic, Chinese-manufactured toothpaste have been published by media outlets across the Americas. The issue centers on the use of Diethylene Glycol (DEG) found in a number of toothpastes under various brands, including Colgate (for more background see the Useful Links below). Here is a summary of key events as they unfolded – from latest to oldest – which we will continue updating until its relevance is considered active.

July 25: Colgate-Palmolive’s President and CEO, Ian Cook, addresses the (minimal) impact of the counterfeit toothpaste in the Q2 2007 earning call (see transcript here).

July 20: Chinese authorities shut down three chemical manufacturing companies on the basis of safety concerns. Among these is the Taixing Glycerin Factory, which has been accused of exporting diethylene glycol.

July 13: News about counterfeit and toxic toothpaste show no sign of slowdown. Additional reports of products sightings and seizures are reported in Massachusetts, Illinois, and Florida. In Palermo, Italy, one man is hospitalized with an allergic reaction attributed to a counterfeit toothpaste and the number of DEG-contaminated toothpaste brands grows to include (counterfeit) Sensodyne (only reported in the UK thus far).

July 11: “From today onwards, toothpaste manufacturers are not allowed to use diethylene glycol as an ingredient . . .” (Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine Website). >>>

July 10: Zheng Xiaoyu, former director of China’s State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), is executed. According to Xinhia news agency, “the court said Zheng “sought benefits” for eight pharmaceutical companies by approving their drugs and medical devices during his tenure as China’s chief drug and food official from June 1997 to December 2006.” China is sending a strong signal that it takes the safety of its exports seriously. [Here is an excellent NYT article on Mr. Zheng]

July 6: Tens of thousands of counterfeit Colgate toothpaste tubes are seized by Police in both Spain and Italy where authorities express concerns not only about DEG content but also about the alleged bacterial contamination which Canadian Health authorities have just declared more worrisome than previously thought.

Cao Wenzhuang, director, Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), is sentenced to death (with a two-year reprieve) on charges of accepting bribes and neglecting official duties. He is the second official from the Food & Drug Administration to receive a death sentence since the 1980s.

June 29: Health Canada issues two unrelated warnings: one pertaining to 21 Chinese-made toothpastes found to contain DEG levels up to 13.7%. The second warning suggests the potential for inaccuracies in the FDA’s warnings.

This particular alert appears to address three counterfeit Colgate products including the very same batch addressed in both the FDA and Colgate warnings, distinguished by the “Manufactured in South Africa” print and some misspellings, including “isclinically” “SOUTH AFRLCA” and “South African Dental Assoxiation”. However, the puzzling aspect of this warning is that it does not refer to DEG content but rather to ‘significant risk’ levels of a bacteria from the Enterobacteriaceae family. Colgate promptly updated its consumer alert page suggesting that indeed some of the bacteria-laden counterfeits are among those found on US shelves.

Between June 13 and June 28, several reports of tainted toothpaste found at prisons in Georgia and North Carolina appear on local news outlets. NYT reports that over 900,000 tubes of tainted toothpaste have been distributed at hospitals, juvenile detention centers, institutes for the mentally ill, and prisons in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.

June 13: CL shares close at $67.46 – by June 27 the stock will close at $64.44

June 14: Colgate-Palmolive (CL) issues a warning about falsely-labeled Colgate toothpaste containing DEG found in four states. Updates and a dedicated safety web page are published subsequently on 6/15 and 6/29.

June 13: Recalls

MainStar America, LLC recall of Dr. Cool, Superdent and Everfresh Smile2.

MS USA Trading recall: “MS USA Trading, Inc. of North Bergen, NJ, is recalling all lots of 5 ounce tubes of Colgate, because it has the potential to be contaminated with diethylene glycol (DEG) chemical found in anti-freeze. . . . Colgate was distributed in NJ, NY, PA and MD in discount retail stores. . . The product comes in a 5 ounce (100ml), made in South Africa is printed on the box. The recall includes the following brands: Regular, Gel, Triple and Herbal.“

Interestingly, in consideration of the next day’s statement by Colgate (see above), this recall represents an admission of sales and distribution of counterfeit products by MS USA Trading, Inc.

June 8: Recalls

Pitusa et al (Puerto Rico) recall : “Pitusa, National Lumber, Everything To Weight, Supermarkets and Supermarkets Pitusa of Carolina, Puerto Rico, is asking for return to our stores of all dental toothpaste of origin ‘Made in China’ . . . The marks under which these dental pastes were sold are Dentakleen, BrightMax, DentaPro, and Dentakleen Junior. The flavors are Fresh Spearmint, Cool Peppermint, Freshmint, Strawberry and Blue Berry.“

Gold City Enterprise LLC (Hallandale, Florida) ‘Shir Fresh‘ brand recall.

June 1: FDA issues a consumer warning as well as an import alert for all toothpaste made in China.

May 22: Consumeraffairs.com publishes an investigative report suggesting that several Chinese-manufactured toothpastes were found in at least four dollar-type discount stores in the D.C. area. Although the article does not suggest that the discovered products are from the same contaminated ‘batch’ found in Panama, it indicates that unauthorized and possibly counterfeit products are labeled as Colgate and may originate from the same manufacturers.

May 15 – 19: The Panamanian toothpaste investigation breaks on major US news outlets including USA Today, the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune. Around this time, similar investigations and product seizures are being conducted in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua. According to these articles, there is no evidence – by this date – that contaminated products can be found in the US.

May 4: The US FDA issues a warning about the potential dangers of Diethylene Glycol (DEG) contaminated Glycerin.

Useful Links:

• The FDA subject-specific web page – with links to the import alert with the full list of brands and manufacturers
• Health Canada Advisories, Warnings and Recalls
• Colgate safety news page
• Diethylene Glycol on Wikipedia
• New York Times video report “China’s Unwatched Drug Makers“