Name Brand Toothpastes at U.S. Discount Stores Not Necessarily Meant for the U.S.-Truth!
Summary of eRumor:
It is a warning that a TV news report said that at “dollar stores,” including Dollar Tree and Greenbacks, name-brand toothpastes were not “the same as from Wal-mart, grocery stores, etc,” They were manufactured for other countries, which have different standards than in the U.S.
The Truth:
When one TV station does an innovative investigative report, it often results in numerous stations across the country doing the same thing. In 2004 there were numerous local investigations by TV stations of discount stores across the country.
An example is in May of 2004, NBC 5, which serves Dallas and Ft. Worth, Texas, broadcast an investigative report on discount stores. According to the report, tubes of toothpaste were found in local stores that had been manufactured in foreign countries. They looked like the products that U.S. customers would expect but closer inspection revealed their origins and that some did not have required U.S. labeling. They quote an expert from the Baylor College of dentistry who said that the biggest concern about the foreign toothpastes was the fluoride levels. For example, he said, one of the toothpastes from South African had 10 times the fluoride of products normally sold in the U.S. The report said that toothpastes sold in the United States should have the seal of the American Dental Association on them.
We also found similar reports by NBC 4 in Columbus, WROC-TV in Rochester, New York, KXAN 36 in Austin, Texas, and many others. All of them discovered foreign toothpastes in discount or so called “dollar” stores.
Last updated 3/25/06