Companies sued for import of toxic toothpaste
March 12, 2008
Criminal charges have been charged against a company in Los Angeles on the 6th, with the charge that they have been importing toxic toothpastes. The charge against the company is that they brought in and distributed almost 90,000 tubes of china-made toothpaste, which is believed to have poisonous substances. The charge was also against the wholesaler who distributed the toothpaste amongst the local stores. The news was let out by the city attorney of Los Angeles Rocky Delgadillo.
The company known as Selective Imports Corp. is the one against which the criminal charge has been filed. The company, it has been said in the file that, sold toothpastes which has in it Diethylene Glycol on a nationwide basis throughout the period of December 2005 to may 2007. Vernon Sales Inc. is also charged with the crime of buying these toothpastes and reselling them to numerous stores in the Los Angeles area.
According to many chemical experts the chemical Diethylene glycol is usually used as a solvent or as constituent in antifreeze. The Chinese manufacturers of the toothpaste is said to have used this chemical as an alternative to glycerin which is far more expensive than DEG. Glycerin is generally used in toothpastes to make it thicker. However DEG is a dangerous chemical and will cause damage to the kidney as well as the liver if there is prolonged exposure to the chemical.
There are 14 total criminal charges against the Vernon Sales and its officials for the selling, receiving and delivering of an adulterated drug. The president and the vice president of Selective Imports have also been charged with the selling, receiving and delivering of a product containing DEG. The Supervising deputy City Attorney said that the companies will be responsible for the distribution and import of the product as the companies in the nation are liable to make sure that the products they sell meet the safety standards. He went on to say that it would not matter even if the companies were unaware of the fact that the toothpastes were containing harmful toxics. The misconduct charges against the companies, which were charged on the 3rd, carry with it a penalty of a year of imprisonment as well as a $1,000 fine.
The selective imports vice president said that he was totally shocked by the filing as his company had been completely cooperative with the FDA in the destruction of all the products which had been alleged to have had toxic chemicals in them. He acknowledged the fact that the toothpastes might not have been of superior quality. But he pressed on the point that his company had not intention whatsoever to hurt anyone intentionally.
As a result of the suit that has been file the reputation of china as a reliable exporter ahs taken a hit. The country has been taking a lot of flak in the recent few years as a lot of their products which includes toothpastes, pet food, and lead toys have been recalled as they were either below the required standards or were having harmful substances in them.