Gilchrist & Soames, a luxury hotel products supplier, is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on a voluntary recall of hotel products made in China.
Independent tests of the company's complimentary-sized .65oz/18ml toothpaste showed some samples of the toothpaste manufactured in China contained diethylene glycol, or DEG. This is a poisonous chemical that is a solvent and used in antifreeze.
Gilchrist & Soames says once they learned on June 1 about the possibility of tainted toothpaste, they stopped shipping toothpaste to its hotel clients and quarantined all of its "Made in China" toothpaste. After conducting five rounds of independent testing of its toothpaste, they found the presence of DEG in some samples at levels exceeding FDA guidelines from one of its China suppliers. This recall is being conducted with the knowledge of the FDA.
Hotels that received the recalled toothpaste are being asked to destroy any remaining inventory. Hotel guests who may have received the recalled toothpaste are asked to safely dispose of it.
The FDA is not aware of any U.S. reports of poisonings from toothpaste containing DEG. However, the agency is concerned about potential risks from chronic exposure to DEG and exposure to DEG in certain populations, such as children and individuals with kidney or liver disease. DEG in toothpaste has a low but meaningful risk of toxicity and injury to these populations.
