Tainted toothpaste makes hygiene a brush with death


Costa Rican authorities have seized 300 boxes of Chinese toothpaste tainted with a potential deadly chemical. Costa Rica joins Panama and the Dominican Republic in pulling the deadly dental products, and the United States has also said it is looking into the matter.

The chemical contained in high concentration in the contaminated tubes, diethylene glycol, is often found in anti-freeze, and Panamanian officials said that it arrived from China mislabeled as glycerin. Whoops.

This is more bad press for China, which became the subject of national media attention after its products containing wheat gluten and rice protein were linked to the deaths of many pets, causing a national pet-food scare.

Of course, China has said it is working to improve its exporting practices to prevent further disasters. Perhaps they should start by not mislabeling deadly toxins as glycerin, which is often used as a sweetener.

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Last updated: February 13, 2012: 09:56 AM

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