Next time you have a laugh about the theoretical possibility of recovering damages against a Chinese company for knowingly or neglectfully adding poison to something you put in your mouth, remember this: Every time Republicans talk about tort reform, they want to take away this one tool you and I have to punish miscreants and maybe make ourselves whole.

The ability to sell this crap and to escape all punishment is a competitive advantage in the global race to the bottom. American business wants to get in on the action.

But it's not an advantage for the consumers who get sick.

Where has the government been on this? It's in the hands of the Republicans. They protect us, but only if there's a big corporation to make billions off of it.

Liberty and justice for all.

I have a theory. What if the dog food wasn't really bad and what if there really isn't poison in the toothpaste?

Doug McCaughan
(link...)

I should have given a citation.

The CIA’s aim is to prepare the US for future economic challenges from China and India. [Source]

Doug McCaughan
(link...)

A baking soda and salt mixture works as well as anything else does for cleaning teeth. Don't discount the wisdom of the old folks. Most of them lived a lot longer than we will.

And, I wouldn't buy anything for consumption from China. The problem is the labeling.

We don't always know if ingredients from China have been used to make what we consume.

It's really mindboggling how quickly American jobs got flushed down the crapper, too. Anyone else remember back in the 1980s, when Wal-Mart proudly advertised "Made in USA" on all the goods?

I think their transformation is at least partly to blame for the state of things these days.

My major, name brand, toothpaste does not say where it was made...only where it was distributed from. In a lot of cases that is not the same....WTH??

We're pretty much a Jason toothpaste household these days. (No fluoride, please. I think we're overdosed.)

Between global warming, energy waste/externalized pollution, and product chains that get too dependent on sources that can't be trusted or verified, I think maybe the biggest lesson of this decade is that the last decade's big lesson of freely moving anything globally to minimize costs was 180 degrees and 100% wrong.

Small, local, independent economies might be the only way we'll survive on the planet.

Toothpaste labeled Colgate recalled in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

A Food and Drug Administration official, Doug Arbesfeld, confirmed that testing had found the chemical in a product with the Colgate label. But he said the agency is unsure if it is really Colgate or a counterfeit.

I had no idea there was chinese made toothpaste in the US. I heard a while back that some of the "everything's a dollar" stores sometimes sell toothpaste from other countries that have a very high flouride content. Wherever I heard this said to only use toothpaste from the US and Canada.

We use Tom's of Maine.

The only Chinese toothpaste I've seen was a year ago when I had a flight cancelled and had to stay over in Cincinnati w/o my bag, so I asked the front desk for some toothpaste. I thought I'd get a sample size of Colgate or the like. After reading the label, I just threw it away. I was a year ahead of my time!

It would appear that the one product made in the USA and not imported from China is the Chinese Fortune Cookie. Ran into a friend the other day who confirmed that he has never seen one while living in China. It could be the start of a fortune for some enterprising American.

The one good thing about being pessimistic is - at least it shows you understand the situation. -- Unknown

The tainted toothpaste distribution channel was much wider than earlier reported.

Roughly 900,000 tubes containing a poison used in some antifreeze products have turned up in hospitals for the mentally ill, prisons, juvenile detention centers and even some hospitals serving the general population.

Doesn't it say on the tube not to swallow. I know it does on mouthwash. The disclaimers help with liability issues I suppose.

I was looking at some web stats, and "chinese toothpaste recall" or some variation thereof was the top search term for the month of June.

For instance apple juice, however Kroger's apple juice is made with concentrate from China. You won't find that information on the label; it's printed directly on the back of the bottle

The one good thing about being pessimistic is - at least it shows you understand the situation. -- Unknown

I've heard some "not so good" things about products that are made in China (pet food, toys with LBP, and toothpaste). I have not been directly affected until recently.

I believe that apple juice that I purchased from WalMart made my 3 yr old son sick as well as myself. He was the only one drinking it at first and was experiencing stomach pain and diarreha. I thought maybe he had a flu or virus. A couple of days later I had a glass of apple juice with a half a bagel and cream cheese. Within and hour I began getting cramping and nausea (no vomiting) and the sweats. Being 5 months pregnant, I dismissed the symptoms until they worsened. They came in waves that lasted 2-3 minutes and were about 20-30 minutes apart. They were so severe that I began to worry about premature labor and was advised by my doctor to visit the ER. This is my fourth pregnancy and I am not a hypochondriac.

By the end of the day I was feeling better, just a little embarrassed. The pain earlier was so severe I thought I was going to pass out. They even checked me for a kidney stone at the hospital. They thought it may have been food or bowel related. I am fine now.

When I got home, I dumped out the apple juice to be on the safe side and noticed it said "Made in China". The experation date was fine and it was less than 1 week old. I just wondered if anyone else has experienced this problem with Apple Juice made in China?

I know I will read labels more carefully before buying anything from now on. It just seems like there should be some quality control for the things imported to our country. It always goes back to the mighty dollar though I guess. What can we do?

For what they save on such cheap products and labor, they will loose in lawsuits, medical costs, and the lists goes on. Where is the logic?