Bangladesh: Tainted pain reliever kills 25 children

An Industrial solvent was added to a popular over-the-counter pain reliever rendering it toxic. It is estimate that the tainted paracetamol syrup is responsible for killing over 25 children in Bangladesh. Tests revealed that diethylene glycol was substituted for propylene glycol in the formula.

Diethylene glycol is often used as a solvent for dyes and resins. It is also used as a coolant, a substance found in antifreeze. Diethylene glycol is often illegally used as counterfeit glycerin in some nations and sold internationally as a component of cough syrup, toothpaste, and mouthwash because it is less expense than the legitimate ingredient. However, because it is toxic, this often leads to disastrous results.

In Bangladesh, twenty-five children age 1 to 5 have died in the past six weeks. According to authorities, the tainted medicine killed most if not all of the children. Most of the deaths have been reported in the district of Comilla, where the factory is. The plant has since been shut down.

Last year in the United States, two New Yorkers, Saifoulaye Diallo and Habib Bah, pleaded guilty to importing counterfeit Colgate toothpaste tainted with Diethylene glycol. In their testimony they admitted to buying the Chinese toothpaste and repacking it to look like the Colgate brand, but were unaware that the toothpaste itself was toxic. The packaging of the counterfeit toothpaste was mostly indistinguishable from real Colgate, although the wording did contain some spelling and grammatical errors. Additionally, the toothpaste was identified as being made in South Africa, in an effort to avoid scrutiny from customs officials.

These individuals and various additional importers of the tainted Chinese toothpaste sold under different brands popular at dollar stores and state institutions (such as prisons). The imports accounted for over a million tubes of counterfeit toothpaste distributed in the U.S. throughout several states between 2007 – 2008.

This along with other recent examples of substandard medications, emphasize the need to have molecular pharmaceutical authentication along the supply chain route to protect consumer sagainst toxic substitutions. To view more on molecular authentication, visit www.xstreamsystems.net.

Law and Order: Criminal Intent - Fiction Takes a Clue from Real Life

Many of us enjoy the episodes of Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and while those cases may be fictional, many do not realize that the facts are often only TOO real. “Smile”, which first aired October 18, 2007 (Season 7 Episode 136), depicts the murder case of a dentist and the mysterious death of four young patients. As the case unravels, the young children’s deaths are tied to counterfeit mouthwash manufactured in China.

Law & Order - Counterfeit Mouthwash

As we return to the REAL world, we discover that counterfeit mouthwash and counterfeit toothpaste were discovered in Panama and claimed hundreds of lives in May of 2007. This particular news made national headlines, but many do not understand that it also hits much closer to home here in the U.S.

Also in 2007, counterfeit tubes of Colgate toothpaste were discovered in Dollar Plus Stores. The packaging was for distribution in Africa and was not Colgate’s packaging, but a fair imitation. The real life clincher is the owner commented that the tubes couldn’t be counterfeit because he had purchased them from a big company, but the toothpaste was found to contain Diethylene Glycol, the same ingredient that was depicted in the Law & Order story and the same ingredient that caused so many deaths.

Unfortunately, sometimes real life can be as unbelievable as those fictional stories we watch.

Which leads us to wonder – “Do you know where your toothpaste has been?”