Companies import poisonous Chinese toothpaste in disguise

Four defendants pleaded guilty yesterday to importing from China more than a half million tubes of toothpaste falsely labeled as the popular brand Colgate and containing a toxic chemical found in antifreeze.

According to a U.S. Department of Justice statement, the defendants were responsible for 518,028 tubes of toothpaste worth an estimated $730,419 that were shipped into the country and distributed to bargain retail stores in several states last year.

Laboratory tests conducted by the Food and Drug Administration and the Colgate-Palmolive company revealed the toothpaste not only lacked fluoride but was also tainted with bacillus spores and diethylene glycol, a sweet-tasting poison found in engine coolant.

According to the FDA, the toothpaste contained enough diethylene glycol to pose a health risk to any consumer, but especially to people with compromised immune systems, infants and children. ....