SPOKANE, Wash. — 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.
"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.
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. Magazinelane.com
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.
"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.
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. Magazinelane.com
