Poisoned Toothpaste Found In SE Hospitals
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It was origionally assumed that toothpaste from China, tainted with an antifreeze ingredient, would be found in discount stores.
But a search is finding the tainted tubes in hospitals, homes for the mentally ill, prisons, jeuvenile detention centers throughout Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.
Altogether roughly 900,000 tubes were handed out in dozens of state institutions that a pharmaceutical distributor is now recalling.
The FDA has advised consumers to throw away the Chinese-made toothpaste and has issued a list of brand names they might fall under on their website.
So far, there are no reports of illness from the brands, however the FDA warns small amounts of the controversial ingredient, diethylene glycol, a syrupy poison, can have a risk of toxicity and reaction for children and people with compromised diseases of the kidney or liver. The ingredient is used in place of the more expensive glycerin.
After the drug agency expressed concern about tainted toothpaste, the Georgia Department of Administrative Services checked to see whether Chinese toothpaste was being used by the state. The department found it in 83 prisons, 4 mental health centers and 4 juvenile detention centers, said Rick Beal, contracts manager for the department.
The EverFRESH brand under the order was purchased by the Florida Hospital Waterman, a 200-bed institution in Tavares, Fla. A spokesperson says that a replacement brand also had trace amounts of diethylene glycol and was also removed.