Colgate is currently fighting claims that one of the chemical ingredients used in its ‘Total’ toothpaste – sold all over the world, including Portugal – has been linked to cancer.
The chemical known as Triclosan is used in the toothpaste to fight off gum disease, but according to Bloomberg News has been linked to “cancer-cell growth” and “disrupted development” in animals.
While the American company insists that the product is “safe to use” because it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997, Bloomberg says toxicology documents used by the FDA to approve the product show that the agency used “company-backed science to show products are safe and effective”.
Furthermore, Bloomberg says that Colgate’s 35-page report on triclosan was only released early this year after a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit was put forward last year.
The news agency stresses that the studies showed foetal bone malformations in mice and rats, but the company ignored the findings saying they were not “relevant”.
“The recently released pages, taken alongside new research on triclosan, raise questions about whether the agency did appropriate due diligence in approving Total 17 years ago,” scientists told Bloomberg.
Colgate continues to stand by its statement that the product is “safe”, saying Total’s effectiveness and safety are supported by more than 80 clinical studies involving 19,000 people. The company also says it has no plans to reformulate Total toothpaste, although drug regulators in the US are said to be reviewing the dangers of the chemical.
Meanwhile, Portugal’s medicine authority Infarmed has come out in support of the toothpaste, denying Colgate Total’s cancer risks.
“European legislation concerning cosmetic products allows a 0.3% percentage use of triclosan as a preservative,” Infarmed said in a press release, referring to Total’s 0.3% use of the chemical. The percentage used is considered “safe” according to European rulings, the medicine authority added.
