Suspect Toothpaste Pulled From Jail 7 Weeks After Recall Notice
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Spokane County jail officials have begun scrambling to find a substitute for as many as 12,000 tubes of suspect toothpaste from China after belatedly learning of a recall.
Jail Capt. Jerry Brady said he received a letter announcing the recall late Wednesday and postmarked Monday from Amercare Products Inc. of Woodinville, although warnings were issued last month.
Distribution of 2.75-ounce tubes of AmerFresh brand toothpaste that may have been tainted with diethylene glycol, or DEG, was halted Thursday and new toothpaste for the nearly 600 inmates a day was ordered.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"As soon as I became aware of it, we stopped it," Brady told The Spokesman-Review.
Amercare officials did not return a call Thursday.
DEG, used in antifreeze and as a solvent, can be toxic to the liver and kidneys.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Food and Drug Administration recalled several specific brands of imported toothpaste last month and issued a general warning to consumers June 1 to avoid any Chinese-made toothpaste after the poison was detected in some samples.
"I don't believe I was ever told specifically about an FDA recall," Brady said.
Amercare, which has contracts with several state agencies, issued a voluntary recall July 10 for AmerFresh and Pacific brand toothpaste, regular and gel.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}To hold costs down, Amercare toothpaste was included in 10,000 jail admission kits and 2,000 hygiene kits that were ordered this year, said Kay L. Donder, a jail supervisor.
"We're not going with name brands, we're looking for the best deal," Donder said.