Chinese-Made Toothpaste Warning

The FDA warned consumers not to use toothpaste made in China after regulators found some brands contained a poisonous ingredient also found in antifreeze.

Officials say they have identified at least 16 brands of imported toothpaste potentially containing diethylene glycol, a chemical that can be used as a sweetener and thickening agent but that is toxic to humans.

None of the brands is widely distributed in the U.S.; regulators say they are sold primarily at discount stores. Officials say they have not received reports of any U.S. consumers injured by the contaminated toothpaste.

Debora Autor, the FDA's director of compliance, urges consumers to check the labels of toothpaste in their medicine cabinets to see if it indicates Chinese origin.

The FDA recommends that consumers should throw away toothpaste with that labeling," Autor says.

Some of the contaminated brands include the chemical in their labels under the names "diethylene glycol," "diglycol," or "diglycol stearate." But others have no mention of the chemical on their packaging, the agency says.

Autor says contaminated toothpaste has been recovered from a Dollar Plus store in Miami as well as from an outlet called Todo a Peso in Puerto Rico.


To view more information and the brands of toothpaste that are affected, click here!