What You Should Know

UPDATE: June 29, 2007
Identifying genuine Colgate toothpaste
Where to find genuine Colgate product
Counterfeit toothpaste: South Africa
What to do if you suspect you have counterfeit toothpaste
What Colgate is doing to protect consumers from counterfeit products
Diethylene Glycol is not now and never has been an ingredient in Colgate Toothpaste

UPDATE: June 29, 2007
Colgate Palmolive is continuing to remove counterfeit toothpaste from small discount variety retailers in the United States and Canada, in cooperation with government health and law enforcement authorities. Additional developments include a report by Canadian health authorities as well as Colgate’s own investigation that has found suspected harmful bacteria in some samples of counterfeit toothpaste. These counterfeit products were picked up in small discount variety retailers in Canada and the United States.

Colgate recognizes the seriousness of illegal counterfeit products and the health risk they may present and works with law enforcement authorities to prevent such products from reaching the consumer marketplace. It is important that consumers support efforts to remove these illegal products which Colgate does not make or distribute, and report to Colgate and regulatory authorities any suspected counterfeit product.

Colgate products are made with the highest quality and safety standards. Colgate encourages interested consumers and retailers to visit our website at www.colgate.com or call 1-800-468-6502 to get more information.

Identifying genuine Colgate toothpaste
To help you identify genuine Colgate toothpaste made for sale in the United States, look for the following:

• The words “Distr. by Colgate-Palmolive, New York, NY 10022” appear in the lower right-hand corner of a panel on the box
  
  
• In the white box that contains the UPC bar code, genuine Colgate products for sale in the U.S. begin with the code number 35000
  
  
• Please see an example of a genuine Colgate toothpaste box below:

If you have any questions or require additional information, please call Colgate’s consumer information line (1-800-468-6502).

Where to find genuine Colgate toothpaste
Colgate products are sold in a wide variety of retail channels, including supermarkets, pharmacies, general merchandise stores, large dollar stores and club stores.

If you have any questions or require additional information, please call Colgate’s consumer information line (1-800-468-6502).

Counterfeit toothpaste: South Africa
Consumers should be on the alert for illegally manufactured counterfeit products and should be aware that counterfeit products may present a health risk. On June 13, 2007, MS USA Trading, Inc. announced a recall in four states of counterfeit product falsely labeled as Colgate. Here are some indicators to look for to identify the counterfeit product:

• The counterfeit toothpaste comes labeled as a 5 ounce (or 100 ml tube), a size not made or sold by Colgate in the United States
  
  
• There are words on the package, “Manufactured by: COLGATE-PALMOLIVE (PTV) LTD., SOUTH AFRICA – 52 Commissioner Street, Boksburg, 1460”
  
  
• There may be several misspelled words on the product carton including: “isclinically”, “SOUTH AFRLCA” and “South African Dental Assoxiation”
  
  
• Please see an example of a counterfeit box below:

If you suspect that you have counterfeit product, please visit the FDA’s web site (www.fda.gov) for more information or call Colgate’s consumer information line (1-800-468-6502).

For information on Colgate’s actions to protect its consumers see our recent Press Release.

What to do if you suspect you have counterfeit product
If you suspect that you have counterfeit product, do not use it. 

Please call Colgate’s consumer information line (1-800 468-6502) for more information and further instructions on how we can help identify the product and ensure you only use genuine Colgate toothpaste.

For more information about counterfeit products you can also visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s web site (www.fda.gov)

What Colgate is doing to protect consumers from counterfeit products
Like all major consumer products companies, Colgate products are sometimes illegally counterfeited. Colgate is committed to protecting consumers and ensuring that they can rely on Colgate products for superior performance and quality.

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.

On a worldwide basis, Colgate takes a very aggressive stance against counterfeit producers and actively investigates counterfeiting activities. For example, Colgate:

• Works closely with global government agencies, including Customs, to assist in halting importation of counterfeit product
  
  
• Investigates manufacturers and importers of counterfeit goods to stop counterfeiting at its source
  
  
• Executed seizures and raids throughout the world, and prevented product from entering the market
  
  
• Has conducted and will continue to conduct training sessions with customs agents in various countries to assist their anti-counterfeiting efforts to aid them in recognizing counterfeit toothpaste
  
  
• Has and will continue to take appropriate legal action against counterfeit manufacturers and distributors

Diethylene Glycol is not now and never has been an ingredient in Colgate Toothpaste
Toothpaste made by Colgate meets the highest quality standards and is safe and effective.

Colgate reassures its consumers that diethylene glycol is not now and has never been an ingredient in Colgate toothpaste anywhere in the world.

Regardless of the country where we manufacture it, Colgate toothpaste is made in strict adherence to our global safety and quality standards. These standards include rigorous, worldwide quality checks on all incoming materials and finished goods as well as supplier verification procedures to ensure the safety and quality of all ingredients.

Consumers can call Colgate's consumer information line at 1-800-468-6502 to learn more.

More Information
Press Releases
06/15/2007>>Update: Counterfeit Toothpaste Falsely labeled as “Colgate”
06/14/2007>> Counterfeit Colgate Toothpaste Found

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