Robert Jablon reports for the Associated Press that a Southern California company that sold 80,000 tubes of Chinese toothpaste has pleaded no contest to violating California’s health and safety code. The toothpaste contained a toxic substance, diethylene glycol. It was even clearly listed on the ingredients label.

Selective Imports Corp. pled no contest to a “misdemeanor health code violation of selling an adulterated drug product.” They will be put on probation for three years and follow FDA guidelines for recalling the toothpaste, according to Supervising Deputy City Attorney Jerry Baik. Moreover, Selective Imports has agreed to donate $33,000 to a local charity.

Contains an ingredient of antifreeze

“If you’re doing business with an international trade … you have a moral obligation to make sure that that product is safe for our consumers,” said City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo.

Between December 2005 and May 2007, prosecutors state that Selective Imports sold about 78,300 tubes of a Chinese-made toothpaste called “Cooldent” that contained the diethylene glycol, which is also known as diglycol or DEG. A thickening agent, DEG is found in products ranging from antifreeze to cough syrup. Manufacturers who are bereft of human decency even use DEG as a sweetener. Ingest enough of it and death is a possible outcome, as nearly 100 people who used DEG-tainted cough syrup in Panama recently discovered.

Twice the allowable level

America allows nothing more than trace elements of DEG in any toothpaste. Testing discovered that some of the imported Cooldent had twice the allowed DEG levels, said Baik. In spite of this, the toothpaste had not been considered a “critical health threat” because DEG must be ingested to be dangerous. Furthermore, Baik said most of it probably was used by adults.

How does Baik figure that? Does he think kids aren’t brushing, or that they only use tubes with cartoon characters that add significantly to the cost because of their licensing? I think not. I also think he would be much more motivated to go after this if he had children of his own. If in fact he does, then I cannot understand his relative indifference.

In addition to the charges against Selective Imports, Vernon Sales Inc. faces a combined 42 criminal counts. Baik said all the charges will be dismissed if, during that period, Vernon “adheres to FDA recall policies and contributes $10,000 to a local charity.”

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