Counterfeit Imports Diversify

By ANDREW BRIDGES The Associated Press

Published: Jun 15, 2007

WASHINGTON - Discount stores that scour the world for deals sometimes give shoppers something they didn't bargain for: bogus products of uncertain origin that may be dangerous.

A prime example: this week's recall of toothpaste thought to be counterfeit and toxic.

Government tests on the toothpaste, bought by federal investigators at a discount store in Maryland, revealed it contained diethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze, a Food and Drug Administration spokesman said Thursday. Although the toothpaste was labeled "Colgate," Colgate-Palmolive Co. said the imported 5-ounce tubes were counterfeits.

Foes of counterfeiting say it is an example of how it's more than CDs, DVDs, handbags and sunglasses that are being faked these days.

"This has really become an issue where every industry is affected," said Caroline Joiner, executive director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's anticounterfeiting and piracy initiative. The chamber unveiled a lobbying effort Thursday to step up federal efforts in combating a problem it estimates costs U.S. companies $250 billion a year in lost sales.

Lately, counterfeit drugs repeatedly have made headlines, even though the FDA concedes they are quite rare in the U.S. drug distribution system. Worries about fake drugs recently helped sink legislation in the Senate that would have permitted the importation of prescription drugs. When fake drugs do crop up, it's typically after they've been purchased over the Internet.

In May, the FDA relayed reports from three consumers who had purchased bogus Xenical, a weight-loss drug, from a pair of Web sites. Testing revealed that none of the capsules contained the active ingredient in Xenical, though one did include a drug found in Meridia, a competing medication, the FDA said. Other capsules contained nothing more than talc and starch.

Meanwhile, the galaxy of counterfeits continues to expand to include an ever-broader range of consumer products.

"It's to a point where we see fake auto parts -fake brake pads. We see toothpaste tainted with antifreeze and Underwriters Laboratories tags on electric cords that are fake and catch on fire," Joiner said.

In 2006, U.S. agents increased their seizures of counterfeit goods by 83 percent, making more than 14,000 seizures valued at $155 million, the Homeland Security Department said this year.

Even though many bogus goods, including the toothpaste, have murky origins, signs point to overseas - and China in particular, the source of 81 percent of all phony goods seized in 2006, according to federal statistics.

The recalled toothpaste was labeled as made in South Africa, but its toxic ingredient has been found in Chinese-made toothpastes. Colgate-Palmolive said the packages it had examined bore several misspellings, including "SOUTH AFRLCA." That suggests even the bogus product's true origin may have been faked.

Its distributor could do little to explain the source of the toothpaste, which it sold at 60 cents to 70 cents a tube to discount stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

"We do not make it. We don't import it. We just buy it from a guy," said Chris Kim, manager of MS USA Trading, the North Bergen, N.J., company that recalled the 100 cases of suspect toothpaste. A telephone message left for the source identified by Kim, a man he knows only as "Dialo," was not immediately returned Thursday.