HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s Customs Department is “looking into” the safety of Colgate-Palmolive Co’s Total toothpaste, which contains the chemical triclosan.
The inquiry follows previous year report by Bloomberg News highlighting studies linking the chemical to cancer-cell growth and disrupted development in animals. Recently released parts of Colgate’s Total application the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved in 1997, taken alongside new research on triclosan, raise questions about whether its approval should stand, said three scientists who reviewed the material.
Toothpaste is regulated under the city’s Consumer Goods Safety Ordinance, which “requires manufacturers, importers and suppliers to ensure that all consumer goods they supply comply with the general safety requirement,” Hong Kong’s Customs and Excise Department said in an e-mailed response to questions.
The report “unfairly questions the U.S. FDA’s safety review of Colgate Total,” Colgate-Palmolive’s Hong Kong office said in a faxed statement here the other day. “Colgate Total users can be fully confident in the safety of our toothpaste.”
Hong Kong Customs plans to investigate the report and “seek professional advice from the Department of Health,” the agency said in a separate e-mailed statement. “Under the Consumer Goods Safety Ordinance, it is an offense to supply, manufacture or import into Hong Kong consumer goods unless the goods comply with the general safety requirements.”
