Fake toothpaste - 200 tubes seized

11:44am Tuesday 17th July 2007

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TWO hundred tubes of dangerous fake Sensodyne toothpaste have been seized in Blackburn and Darwen following a national alert.

The seizures were revealed as a pensioner spoke of his weeks of agony after developing gum problems whilst using the product.

The fake toothpaste is contaminated with a chemical used in anti-freeze, and 200 tubes of the 50ml tubes of Sensodyne Original and Sensodyne Mint have been seized in the Blackburn and Darwen area by trading standards officers.

They have also uncovered a third fake brand; Sensodyne fluoride, which is now being checked for possible contamination.

Details have been passed to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which prompted the national alert last week and will check the ingredients.

The pensioner, aged 73 from Lower Darwen, has asked not to be named but said that he bought the tube of fake Sensodyne Original six weeks ago from a car-boot sale in Blackburn and developed a bad gum infection shortly afterwards.

He said: "The pain was horrendous. My gums were bleeding and pussing and it got so bad that I couldn't even touch my gums with my tongue.

"I'm not a well man as it is, but just imagine if I'd have had kidney problems; the situation could have been much worse."

His wife said: "My husband doesn't usually buy anything and thought he'd got a real bargain, but I was suspicious.

"Luckily I only used it once or twice and haven't had any problems."

The man sought treatment from his dentist but the problems did not subside until he stopped using the toothpaste after reading an article about it in the Lancashire Telegraph.

The fakes toothpaste is labelled in Arabic and English, whereas genuine Sensodyne is only labelled in English and the mint toothpaste is green, while the genuine article is white.

Tests have revealed this batch of toothpaste contains toxic levels of diethylene glycol which is used in anti-freeze.

It could harm young children or people with impaired liver or kidney functions.

The fakes have been sold through low-cost, bargain retail outlets and car boot sales.

The affected batch code is PROD 07 2005/EXP 08/2008.

The MHRA which issued the warning is continuing to investigate the source of the fake toothpaste.

Blackburn with Darwen Council said only two people have contacted it to say they has bought the fake toothpaste but they did not report any health problems.

Steve Brimble, lead officer for safety at Lancashire County Council said: "At the moment we are concentrating on making sure these products are not on sale, and telling people who may have bought it not to use it.

"It's important to make sure that this message is getting through."