Sainsbury's and Boots recall fake toothpaste

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

Sainsbury's and Boots were duped into selling the counterfeit product between November 28 and December 5.

It was labelled Colgate Cavity Protection and came in 100ml tubes.

The supermarket giant said it had written to 17,000 customers and put recall notices in branches.

Last year in the US, batches of fake Colgate were found to contain the chemical diethylene glycol, which is an ingredient in anti-freeze. However, Sainsbury's said today that there were "no health risks" over the fake product found in stores.

A spokesman for the supermarket said: "We believe there are no health risks associated with using the counterfeit toothpaste but, as it is not a genuine Colgate product, we removed the affected tubes from our stores immediately.

"At the same time we put notices up at point of sale and on the customer service desk, and have written to 17,000 customers asking them to return the product for a full refund. We have also notified the trading standards authorities.

"We believed the supplier we bought the toothpaste from was reputable, and we are carrying out a full investigation into how this has occurred so that we can prevent it from happening again."

Boots said it has contacted customers who use loyalty cards and put notices up in branches.

A spokeswoman said: "We take the health and well-being of our customers extremely seriously.
"As soon as we were made aware of a possible issue with this product, it was immediately withdrawn from sale.

"Customers that we know bought this product via our Advantage Card records have been contacted and we have issued a customer recall notice to be displayed in our stores."

Sainsbury's said the fake toothpaste was laboratory-tested and found not to contain anything toxic, and insisted the product was bought "in good faith".

Boots simply said the product was "inspected on delivery" but pledged: "We will be reviewing our procedures in light of this issue."

Its spokeswoman added: "This particular batch of toothpaste was bought via a wholesale supplier. We are taking this matter very seriously and are currently discussing the matter with them."

They refused to name the wholesaler or rule out trading with the same company in future.