Looks like the Chinese government has cracked down and forbidden diethelene glycol in toothpaste. Now, as someone who doesn't speak or read Chinese, I can't comment on the law's specificity or scope, but my immediate thoughts are:
1. Does this mean that other poisons are still allowed in toothpaste, and that DEG can still be used in other foods and such?
2. Isn't it stunning that someone had to pass a law to stop toothpaste makers from putting a known poison into their product?
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The Roman caesars were the rulers of the Roman Empire, beginning in 27 BC
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13 hours ago
13 comments:
whew...see...that's why we need government regulation! in fact, maybe the government should take over toothpaste manufacturing.
Let's see: minty fresh breath and whiter teeth; or, dying. Boy, that's a tough call. Kind of like taking steroids---big biceps; or, go insane and kill your family. It's amazing the decisions that some people make knowing the inherent dangers in ingesting or injecting any number of different things into their bodies.
kingdavid
Hmmm....I would have thought that "putting poison in toothpaste" would qualify as "assault" or "attempted murder" under any legal system, but maybe in our foolish age we need to spell it out a bit more for "those of you in Rio Linda."
Yikes.
This is a bit tangential, but I hope that kingdavid is not suggesting that we forgo the frivolous luxuries of minty fresh breath and white teeth in order to take the "safe" path of eschewing toothpaste.
Modern dentistry has us extremely spoiled, to the point of not knowing how good we have it. It wasn't all that long ago, just a century or two, that dying of sepsis from dental infection was probably something that had happened either to someone you knew, or to someone who knew someone you knew, if you'd lived enough years. Dental hygiene is not trivial nor is it a safe decision to give up toothpaste in order to avoid the risk of contaminated toothpaste.
I think it just goes to show how much we take for granted in terms of ethics and social morality in our culture. We may be headed downhill, but we're headed downhill from a relatively high elevation compared to much of the world. It's pretty much unthinkable that a Western company would do something like this purely to save a few bucks and because they think they might get away with it. That's not to say Western companies don't engage in practices that are potentially dangerous to their customers, but the blatant and relatively trivial nature of this thing and the other recent scares shows that the Chinese manufacturers sense a lot less of a social barrier to seriously endangering countless people over a relatively small cost savings.
I definitely wasn't saying not use toothpaste. I'm just wondering if that particular ingredient does a marvelous job, would people still use it, knowing that it could be dangerous. It's unbelievable what kind of choices people will make in order to look or feel better.
kingdavid
That ingredient was not put in for effectiveness, it was put in to make toothpaste look and feel like toothpaste but be cheaper to manufacture than properly made toothpaste. No one was advertising, "Now with diethelene glycol!" In fact, it wasn't marketed as superior toothpaste at all, rather it was a counterfeit of legitimate brands.
It's the same thing as lead paint in toddler toys -- nobody puts lead paint in Thomas the Tank Engine toys to make them more attractive -- they sell pretty well on their own. They put lead paint in because it's cheap (where it's not banned) and reduces their production costs. Besides, they're no doubt lying to the people who license the Thomas toys about what's going into them and claiming to follow existing standards, so they're not trying to impress anyone. It's all about cost-cutting without conscience.
Per KD's point, technically flouride is a poison, though the dosage in toothpaste is nowhere near what you'd need to hurt yourself. So yes, there are poisons that we take in small doses due to what they do for us.
But to Jane's point, DEG simply makes the stuff a bit sweeter (that's why you never change antifreeze near dogs or children, BTW, it is sweet in a way) and gives it the texture they want. And it shuts down your kidneys.
Somewhere in this web, there is an article that points out that the diethylene glycol was put in by workers who thought it wasn't different that the glycerin that goes in toothpaste normally.
It also points out that the man in charge of the operation was sentenced, failed his appeal and was put to death already.
That's something a bit lacking in our country, don't you think? Accountability, justice and speed thereof. :^)
Mark, agreed that there is speed here, but I'm not sure the real culprits have been caught, so I can't speak to the justice of this action.
Why? Simple: for factory workers to confuse DEG with glycerin, DEG must first be in the factory. Who ordered barrel upon barrel of the stuff, and why? What legitimate purpose would it serve in a toothpaste factory? Why wasn't it labeled as the poison that it is?
Until we've got answers for this, we don't have justice in this case.
Bert, Granted: They may have shot the guy who was ultimately responsible and not the clerk who ordered the wrong thing. (And sent the bill for the bullet to his family.)
It may not have been a need for DEG in the factory. It may have been improperly ordered, delivered to the area that expected glycerin, and used. There may not be a lot of room for asking questions when not meeting your quota means that you don't get your bowl of rice for the day.
But the manager of the factory next door probably heard about it and got the message!
Hmmm....somehow I doubt that a low level clerk ordered enough of that stuff to poison a small city, or failed to label it as a poison. A quick review of documentation and a few interviews would tell you exactly who it was.
Yes, thankfully others are going to get the message. However, justice was not done here.
You know, Bert, you're probably right. I don't buy the fact that it was a innocent mistake, either. It was a Conspiracy!
The Chinese are Out To Get U.S.
;^)
Boycott Chinese products! (Anyways :^)
Hmmm...not quite sure I can say it was a conspiracy, but I can suggest that it was probably someone in the management ranks trying to get his next promotion for saving a boatload of money.
Or it could be the People's Liberation Army after all.
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