Be careful next time you buy toothpaste for yourself and your family. The warning comes after Colgate-Palmolive urged its users that counterfeit Colgate toothpaste has entered the markets.
Colgate-Palmolive, the familiar brand world over has carried out a stern warning for its consumers to be very careful when they buy the toothpaste next time. The company cautioned that fake Colgate toothpaste containing a deadly toxic chemical diethylene glycol is being sold at dollar stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Counterfeiters often use the sweet-tasting, odorless liquid chemical as an alternate for the more expensive, chemical syrups, which are safe for public use. Diethylene glycol has been found in toothpaste, cough syrup and other consumable medications recently. Even few of the Chinese toothpaste have been found containing Diethylene glycol that has disparaged the country’s image in international market. It is stated that 10 people lost their lives after consuming a syrup containing diethylene glycol in Panama last year.
But than how does one know which Colgate is fake and which one real? The company has offered the reply to this query by advising its consumers to be careful at reading the spellings. The poisonous one has a lot of spelling mistakes like “isclinically,” “SOUTH AFRLCA” and “South African Dental Assoxiation. Also one must check the country of origin. The spurious ones have been manufactured in South Africa and no Colgate toothpaste is imported from there.
As the warning flashed in the market, shares of Colgate dropped to 0.9% or by $66.85 on Thursday. The consumer products company is the market leader in U.S. toothpaste sales, accounting for nearly 1/3rd of U.S. consumers.
The growing fake drugs industry needs to be curbed to secure human health. Stringent laws must be formulated and implemented in this regard. It also requires awareness on the part of the consumers not to be trapped in by the counterfeit products.
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Via: Forbes