False News about Counterfeit Toothpaste
Colgate is committed to product safety
All Colgate products are made in strict adherence to our rigorous global safety and quality standards. In every country where we make our products, these standards include ongoing ingredient and supplier verification procedures and quality control checks to ensure that manufacturing processes meet Colgate standards. Colgate toothpaste is made from only approved and tested ingredients of trusted origins from reliable suppliers.
Protecting consumers against counterfeit products
Like all major consumer products companies, Colgate products are sometimes illegally counterfeited. If we find a counterfeit product, we immediately report it to the appropriate authorities and contact the store where it is found to alert them that they should cease sales immediately. Colgate is committed to protecting consumers and ensuring that they can rely on Colgate products for safety and superior quality. Colgate takes a very aggressive stance against counterfeit producers and distributors and actively investigates counterfeiting activities around the world.
If you suspect you may have a tube of counterfeit toothpaste falsely labeled as Colgate, please contact our Consumer Affairs office. Contact information can be found on our toothpaste carton.
False news on social media channels
From time to time, false stories circulate on social media about counterfeit Colgate toothpaste. Two such instances are currently causing unwarranted concern:
- A fake memo from Algeria with a false warning from the French Consulate was posted on Facebook and shared via WhatsApp and other channels. This hoax was circulated for more than five years and included a false warning about hazardous counterfeit toothpaste. No warning as described in this hoax has been issued to the public in Algeria or anywhere else.
- A 10-year-old television news video about counterfeit toothpaste in the U.S. resurfaced on social media channels. This old report was falsely characterized as current news. We are aware of no current instance of counterfeit toothpaste falsely labeled as Colgate containing diethylene glycol or any other hazardous ingredient in the U.S. or anywhere else.
We regret that such misinformation at times causes unnecessary alarm among users of Colgate toothpaste, which has been trusted as safe and effective for generations.
