The government feared that counterfeit versions of this Colgate brand were on sale, containing the potentially lethal chemical.
Diethylene Glycol. This substance is legitimately used in solvents and anti-freeze - but criminals making adulterated food and hygiene produce illegally use it as a cheap sweetener and thickening agent.
Such fake Colgate products were first discovered in the United States and seemed to come from China. Later tubes of the counterfeit Colgate supposedly made in South Africa also showed up in North America. The Colgate-Palmolive company indignantly denied it had anything to do with these products.
The announcement lifting the ban on this Colgate brand came in a statement signed by Health Minister Ivo Garrido, and the Minister of Industry and Trade, Antonio Fernando, which said laboratory analysis, undertaken inside and outside the country, found that.
although the tubes of toothpaste investigated contained traces of Diethylene Glycol, these were in such small amounts as to pose no threat to human health.
The statement thanked the public for cooperating with the initial ban, but said that, since the tests had proved negative, public health was protected and the "Maximum Cavity Protection" brand could appear on the shelves again.
The campaign to remove this brand in July and August had resulted in the seizure of over 100,000 tubes of suspect toothpaste.
SOURCE: AIM
