Traces of a toxic chemical have been found in contaminated counterfeit toothpaste.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued an alert yesterday concerning tubes tainted with diethylene glycol. It said that the tubes may have been sold by unauthorised suppliers such as markets, discount shops and car boot sales, but were not linked to super-markets and high street retailers. Counterfeit toothpaste containing diethylene glycol — which is used in antifreeze — has also been found in the United States, South America and Spain in recent months.

Several poisonings have occurred after diethylene was substituted for non-toxic naturally occurring “triol” glycerine (also called glycerol) in foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals. The chemical could be particularly toxic to children and anyone with an impaired liver or kidney function, but the MHRA said that it had no evidence of people suffering adverse reactions to the fake toothpaste in Britain.

The drug watchdog said that there was no evidence of the contaminated product entering the legitimate supply chain, but it was asking hospitals, wholesalers and pharmacies to check stocks. The affected products are fake Sensodyne Original and Sensodyne Mint toothpaste, sold in 50ml tubes with packaging written in English and Arabic. Genuine Sensodyne made by GlaxoSmithKline has packaging written only in English and is sold in 45ml and 75ml tubes. The contaminated toothpaste should be destroyed, the agency said. The MHRA issued the warning after trading standards officers seized 140 tubes of toothpaste from stalls and small discount shops in the Manchester area. The affected batch code is PROD 07 2005/EXP 08/2008.

“We believe that elderly patients, possibly with impaired liver and kidney function, may have purchased this stock due to lower prices in markets, discount shops and car boot sales,” a spokesman for the MHRA said. “If people have toothpaste from this batch they should stop using it, discard it and buy a replacement from an authorised stockist.”

Sensodyne Mint toothpaste is white, whereas the paste in the counterfeit tubes is green. The genuine Sensodyne Original and the fake product contain a pink toothpaste. The MHRA is not recalling Sensodyne toothpaste from legitimate shops.

GlaxoSmithKline said that it did not use diethylene glycol in any of its toothpastes, adding: “These fake products are illegal and have no connection with GSK.” A spokeswoman said it was not known where the counterfeit product came from, but China was “in the frame” because it recently exported toothpaste contaminated with diethylene glycol.

This week it was reported that the former head of the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration had been executed for taking bribes linked to sub-standard medicines.

Rise of the phoneys

–– A total of 253 million counterfeit goods were seized at Europe’s borders last year — three times as many as in 2005 — with 86 per cent coming from China
–– Seizures of personal-care products and perfumes rose to 1.6 million from 112,132 in 2002
–– Three counterfeit batches of popular drugs were recalled last month after the MHRA gave warning that counterfeit medicines were on the increase, including a schizophrenia drug
–– Significant seizures of “drugs” that had no active ingredients were made last year, including statins, blood pressure tablets, ulcer protection tablets and osteoporosis drugs
–– Most counterfeit medicines enter the EU from India (30 per cent), followed by the UAE and China

*Sources: European Commission, MHRA, HMRC

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