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Peg, This is the FDA release I jus found.
FDA Home Page | Search FDA Site | FDA A-Z Index | Contact FDA
Firm Press Release
FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.Counterfeit Colgate Toothpaste Found
Contact:
Allison Klimerman 212-310-3770
Tom Paolella 212-310-2774FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — New York, New York — June 14, 2007 — The Colgate–Palmolive Company today warned that counterfeit toothpaste falsely packaged as “Colgate” has been found in several dollar-type discount stores in four states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. There are indications that this product does not contain fluoride and may contain Diethylene Glycol. The Company stated that it does not use, nor has ever used, Diethylene Glycol as an ingredient in Colgate toothpaste anywhere in the world.
The counterfeit toothpaste can be easily recognized because it is labelled as “Manufactured in South Africa.” Colgate does not import toothpaste into the United States from South Africa. In addition, the counterfeit packages examined so far have several misspellings including: “isclinically” “SOUTH AFRLCA” “South African Dental Assoxiation”.
Counterfeit toothpaste is not manufactured or distributed by Colgate and has no connection with the Company whatsoever. Colgate is working closely with the US FDA to help to identify those responsible for the counterfeit product.
Consumers who suspect they may have purchased counterfeit product, can call Colgate’s toll-free number at 1 800 468 6502.
If I remember correctly it was “South Afrlica” or “South Aflica.” I’m going to Google it now and post anything i find.
Peg, The toothpaste was “allegedly” made in South Africa. I saw the box on Television this morning, and “South Africa” was misspelled on the label, along with other words. You think they would know how to spell their own country’s name if it had been made there. It smacks of China again, where misspellings are rampant on packaging and manuals.
Did anyone else notice, there was no mention of any investigation?It all stems from the new requirement for US citizens to have a passport to reenter the US from places like Canada and Mexico, or just about everywhere else.. The amount of people applying has gone up tremendously in the past few months, and the department is overwhelmed. I heard they have now temporarily suspended the regulation to cut down on the amount applicants.
The latest news was they are caught up, and you ahould have gotten yours by now.
The reality is, they most likely still are backed up.
Good Luck!Scott, Thanks for putting my water bill into perspective. Now I may almost be happy to pay it. When we had water district meetings, before we had to build the new system, the town representative told us the national average was about $1,000 a year for municipal water, and that was back then. So I guess there are a lot of people paying dearly for water here.
David, I agree with you. We have only one means of oversight in protecting us. Good, or bad, that happens to be the US government. I hope I did not impugn your reputation as a public worker, that was not my intention. I have many friends, and relatives in the public sector, and they do a fine job, but also see the problems, as you did, with what can happen when bureaucrats run the show in a too large entity.
We all are so busy with our own lives dealing with working and families we don’t have much time left to fully protect ourselves from the things that can harm us. This is where the government should excel. The care and concern of us citizens is what should be uppermost in the minds of public employees. For the most part, I’m sure it is. The system can sometimes, because of politics and other influences, get bogged down and become inefficient, or worse yet, negligent.
I, for one, thank you for your public service. It is the good people who stand in the gap, who make the difference for us all.
Maravilla, I also have to thank, for the things she has done as a private citizen in helping to make us aware of some of the dangers of pharmaceuticals. She told us she was responsible, in part, for bringing about the warnings on labels of certain classes of drugs that may lead to teen suicide. This is another example of someone who took their own time to make a positive impact on an otherwise out of control industry.
Sometimes it takes a combination of government and concerned individuals to make this country a better place. My hat is off to all of you who make that sacrifice.Yup, $1200 a year for water. Compared to what was coming out of the tap before the new water system, I’d have to say it is the only thing I feel a little better about paying too much for. The wells around here are suspect, and there are, as I’ve said before, many that are polluted. There are many that have high levels of bacteria from septic systems or chemicals from fertilizers. The worst is the dry cleaning fluid drums that were buried by and illegal carter and is on the “Superfund” for cleanup and has still not been done.The road had to be diverted when put in because it would have created an evironmental disaster if they ruptured them. The fluid is leaking into the aquifer here now, and of course, 40 years later, it is still there.
So I drink the water with the chlorine, no flouride in it, and go on about my life.David, While I believe smaller government in certain areas to be a great thing, it is absolutely necessary to have a strong, honest and responsive government to keep us protected and keep an orderly nation. It is when government wastes the resources of its citizenry, I want to see it brought under control. The pork barrel spending, misappropriation of funds and special interest projects that are done when no one is looking, is an example of a government that is too large to be reflective of the people’s wishes, and out of control. The government, as you well know, is supposed to be the servant of the people. When it serves it self, then there is something wrong.
When government agencies grow too large, they are subject to corruption, and become self perpetuating, even when the problem they were created for ceases to exist. Let’s face it, nobody wants to lose their job. I remember in the 80’s there were programs in place that Reagan stopped funding, that were just nothing more than make work programs. One in particular in the Bronx, NY was funded for painting trash receptacles on the street corners with artwork in an effort to beautify the city. They had to maintain an office and pay employees to do these waste money projects. And they told me most of the day was spent sitting idle in the office. The trash baskets were painted silver for 50 years and never had anyone complained. When they stopped being funded, they were upset. I can understand them being upset over losing their jobs, but it was created as a useless work program, in my opinion. The program was an example of the politicians bringing home the bacon for their state and district.
On the other hand, we need the interstate highway system to be governmentally run, not sold off to a private concessionaire. We need to keep Social Security under governmental control. We need our defense and corps of engineers to be federally funded.
So don’t think I want to have a smaller government just to reap the benefits by having to take my dog to the veterinarian. I just want it to run as it was intended.
It was said, “We get the government we deserve,” and I believe, when you sit down and fully think that through, it is absolutely true.I think he was equating smaller government being what all of us wanted, and this is what we get. Therefore less government inspectors to do the job of stopping this garbage from getting in the system. But I shouldn’t speak for someone else.
I’m a smaller government guy when it comes to personal liberties. At least the liberties that are not destructive towards others.
When it comes to doing the right thing, and protecting our country and its citizens, I’m up there with the best of them on regulations and government inspectors. I pay enough tax dollars to be able to at least drink the water, eat the food, and expect my kids to have the same, without having to research the companies that provide these goods and services.
If they want me to do it, they can give me back my hard earned money and I will be responsible for my own family.
In my community we have public water. In fact we are our own water district. Every year, by law, the water is tested and we get a full report. Until about 14 years ago, we had a rinky dink water supplier and they threw chemicals in the supply when they felt like it and in strange quantities. Sometimes the water smelled like fish chowder, and other times you thought you were at the town pool. When we moved here, we were warned not to drink the tap water, just to use bottled. The governor of our state mandated certain water quality for any public system, and we had to upgrade at a cost of about $2 million for about 250 homes. I was a bit more than ticked off at the prospect of paying over $1,000 a year for my water, but we can drink it and it doesn’t smell. The surrounding areas have wells, and some are polluted. So I can say government worked in this case, and I’m glad it did. So now I am still ticked at paying the now about $1,200 a year for water, but I sleep at night.
Government, when it works, is a marvelous thing. When it doesn’t it can be a nightmare. There is some sort of balance that we still have to figure out.
In the meantime, it is incumbent upon us to do whatever we can to make officials aware of our dissatisfaction with what is going on, and to let them know at the polls next election.Now that I’ve had my rant, anyone else care to join in?
I really don’t think government is getting smaller. It is just finding new ways to grow. It would seem to me we are abdicating our responsibility by privatizing too many parts of governmental control and thinking businesses will self regulate. It just doesn’t happen when there are huge sums of money at stake. The FDA should have been all over this toothpaste and dog food problem, and cut off all imports until we can be assured of the safety of these things. The issue I have with this is the fact there are no consequences for these fatal actions. Where are the leaders we have elected to oversee the protection of us citizens?
The problem with just not buying the toothpaste or dog food is, by the time you figure it out, people and pets are dead. Every item we import should be brand checked and if there is a problem, recall it and do not take in any other products from that manufacturer, fine them, and if necessary, take it to the Hague if you cannot get satisfaction in the offending country’s or our own legal system.
Countries that allow this to happen continually should be restricted from trading with us. You have to hit them in the pockets to make them realize we are not going to tolerate this.
We have enough problem with our own food supply, with 40,000 pound of beef being recalled in the past few days. What is it going to take for us to wake up? Food is one of the most essential things to living beings. We can’t allow our own, or imported foodstuffs, to be contaminated.
The other question nobody seems to know the answer to, is how did this contaminant get into the products in the first place. Was it an accident, intentional, or did they think it wasn’t that bad and no one notice? In the case of the dog food, I remember reading something about protein enhancement. In the toothpaste, the only thing I can think of is that glycol ethylene was used to sweeten the taste. Glycol ethylene in automobile coolant is dangerous to dogs, and they like it because it is sweet… Maybe Costa Rica can sell them some sugar to use next time.Now, even though the tainted toothpaste has been found in Nicaragua and other places, Costa Rica decides to cut loose Taiwan in favor of trading with China. Maybe I just don’t get it, but isn’t anyone concerned about these things. Or do we just all have a price that we are willing to sell ourselves for.
Costa Rica is not the only country to do this and I’m sure they have their reasons. I hope Stagno addressed these concerns when he was there sealing the deal. Or maybe he was silent like the rest of the world.jafranz, I’m glad to see some positive responses about crime. I was getting a bit down about the crime issue. I was really feeling like it was over in CR for us. We had nothing but wonderful experiences as well, but I was figuring it was only a matter of time and the place would go down the tubes. It was the government’s slow or non-reacting to the situations that made me feel uncomfortable.
I still can say the people we have met are some of the finest. We absolutely love it there because of the Ticos, not so much the natural beauty or the inexpensive life you can have there. People are what makes a country, whether it is a wealthy one or a poor one. Even if prices continue to climb, we still want to go. personally, We have felt safe there because I didn’t put us in situations I was not totally ok with. It is the unknown fears which creep into the backs of our minds that can get us slightly paranoid. Reading stories of people who after a year or so living there, wouldn’t come out of their house, was not what I wanted to hear.
I grew up in New York City and have a fair amount of street smarts, but that unknown quantity is what sets up the uneasiness.
Thank you for the input, I feel better about it when people who have lived there can relate their experiences.Scott, Just saw your graphics on the homepage about murder rates. I did not know how CR stacked up against others in the Americas. When you look at the data it appears to be relatively safe. The impression over the past year or so was starting to get me a little unnerved. The papers did have a lot of front page crime, and it was very disturbing to many folks here, as I’m sure you remember.
I was concerned that my paradise was turning into a free for all for the bad guys. The news in AMCR and the graphs in Nacion bring a little welcome relief. Any foreign country you go to can give you a paranoid feeling just because of the change in location, language and culture. For awhile I was thinking it was just going to get worse and maybe I won’t want to go there anymore.
Recent news articles and the country’s willingness to address these crime issues has given me a better feeling lately, and that was the reason I put up the post. I hope it helps others.Wonder how many trees were done in for that package? lol
I guess it’s all about CYA when agreements get written up today. The handshake just doesn’t cut it anymore. Sad really. I remember when most leases were one page. And that wasn’t all that long ago. In a couple of years they’ll have to deliver the agreement on a handtruck.
I’m kind of glad sometimes that I live far enough north of NYC, so the CYA here is not as entrenched, but it is catching on. I don’t know where we’re going with all this legal maneuvering, but I’m sure it is nowhere good.I won’t watch the debates until the field gets narrowed. No candidate really interests me right now. The only hope I see, and I say this with reservation, is Thompson. He might be the only one with some sense of moral conviction to do what we have to do, or he may just be another one of the usual suspects. I’ll just have to see what happens, if he finally decides to jump in. I still have a problem voting for any of the Demoncrats, but you never know.
As far as the real estate market is concerned, my assessment went up 40K this year, so I get to pay more taxes while I watch the value of my home drop as well. A grand thing, isn’t it?
