Tainted Toothpaste Not the Only Counterfeit Product on U.S. Shelves

ABC News ^ | June 18, 2007 | ABC News

[toothfairy86]

Usually it’s the tartar control ingredients that are irritating. Sometimes it’s the flavoring. Sodium Laurel Sulfate(SLS), a foaming agent, has been shown to cause canker sores in some people.
The Chinese have been substituting diethylene glycol instead of the glycerine, which is more expensive. Glycerine is frequently used as a sweetener and a thickening agent.

[metmom]

Used to be that you could buy real close out stuff at dollar stores. Then it was only when they opened a new one and wanted to lure in customers. Now they’re just junk shops.

I rarely shop at them any more. The only things I check for are seeds and reading glasses.

[Revelation 911]

The only things I check for are seeds

i'd be cautious of that as well since seed houses are known to treat seeds chemically to treat fungus, molds etc....

The Chinese are likely using something flagrantly toxic there as well

[Caramelgal]

I’m sure that many are getting sick of these posts, but ever since the pet food poisonings, my mission is to inform just one new person each day about the dangers of Chinese imports.

Keep on posting. You and mom4kittys are doing us a great service. I thank you both!

The first step is to inform. The next step is for all of us to pressure our legislators to immediately stop all trade with China or any nation that counterfeits our products or defrauds our consumers and puts our (or even our pet’s) health and well-being in jeopardy. Tell them we take this seriously and if they don’t, then we will hold them personally accountable!

Then we need to get American farmers and manufactures back in the business of providing the American people with the safe, high quality products we deserve and can afford.

We do this by securing our boarders and deporting the illegals and putting reasonable tariffs on imports, including tariffs on US companies that outsource or manufacture overseas.

That may cause some short term inflation but the market will eventually right its self and our products will become more valuable to affluent overseas markets.

I believe in the free market economy but fraud is not free market and it has to be stopped.

I’m willing to pay a bit more for products manufactured in the US that I can have faith in.

And if we don’t have enough American workers to meet our demands, I have no problem with immigration as long as it is legal and controlled.

[Paperdoll]

Thank you both for your input. I don’t want Floride in my toothpaste, either, but I do have some Peelu, which is made in the U.S.A. I will use that and see if it heals my problem.

[metmom]

Great post. Mind if I steal some of those lines when contacting my representatives?

[Caramelgal]

Go right ahead. Let us know what response you get.

[metmom]

Nag me about it. We’ve got a couple busy weeks with the kids going off to work at camp and while I will put this on my list of things to do and to contact you, if I lose it, I won’t remember that it was you who asked me to keep them updated. We’ve been getting blindsided with unexpected situations lately. Nothing really serious, but very disruptive.

[blam]

"I want some explanations...from MY senator..about just why “open borders” and “free trade” are so good for ALL of us..."

Who do you think you are, senators don't talk to US citizens, they're above that.

[mylife]

It's not just toothpaste. In Cook County, Ill., the sheriff's department confiscated 600 bottles of counterfeit Head and Shoulders shampoo containing a harmful bacteria linked to feces.

Never trust a product with a name like "Dippity Doo"

[JMJJR]

Everything in China is a copy (read counterfeit). Copy watch, copy purse, copy golf clubs. The hawkers in Hong Kong will make you nuts.

at least a copy watch won’t kill you........

[Northern Alliance]

All products from China need to be banned. These guys don’t care about their own people, how can we expect them to worry about us?

When you have such a big disparity between the cost of producing something (as opposed to the overall cost including advertising, research, etc.) and the price it sells for, as is the case with established brand names, there is so much money to be made, now that the technology is there to enable it, counterfeiting it is going to happen.

I don't like China any more than you do - when profits are concerned, life is cheap - money comes before health or even lives of others. And I have to say it is the same everywhere the Chinese are major business players, like Thailand, which is where I live and where counterfeiting is common with everything from engine oil to medicine. But if this was stopped in China then it would move to other parts of Asia or even other continents.

I am not a fan of federal government interference in our lives, but a huge increase in inspection and regulation at that level, and severe penalties, are the only way to control this problem.

[wolfcreek]

A lot of these articles are showing up in our local paper yet, no real public outcry. I wonder,if there were mass death similar to the ones in Panama, would the people become enlightened. Dog and cat deaths seem to spark a fire.

[WestCoastGal]

Thanks BTTT