Director of health issues warning about toothpaste
By Ken Powers Contributing Writer

Shrewsbury - Nancy Allen, Shrewsbury's director of health, has posted on the town Web site a notice passed on by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning consumers about the possibility that toothpaste available locally may contain a toxic chemical called diethylene glycol.

Diethylene glycol is a chemical routinely found in antifreeze and sometimes used illegally as an inexpensive sweetener or thickening agent.

Tubes suspected of containing diethylene glycol have been found in Sturbridge and Somerville, as well as in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida.

The FDA said as of July 8 they had no reported cases of poisonings in the United States from toothpaste tainted with diethylene glycol.

The tainted toothpaste is manufactured in China and South Africa and usually sold at small, corner-store food markets and buy-for-a-dollar discount stores.

The FDA warning recommends returning for a refund or discarding any tube labeled "made in China," as well as any five-ounce or 10- milliliter Colgate tubes that say "Manufactured in South Africa."

Another indicator the tube of toothpaste may be tainted are phrases with misspelled words on the label, including "South African Dental Assoxiation," South Afrlca" and "isclinically."