Toss That Toothpaste!
A traveler checks into a luxury hotel and is escorted to their room by a bellman. As soon as the bellman has accepted their tip and closed the door behind them, the traveler heads straight to the bathroom. She doesn't need the facilities. She's on a treasure hunt for those little bars of soap and diminutive bottles of lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and mouthwash. If she finds a Gilchrist & Soames branded tube of toothpaste, she would do better to just throw it out. Manufactured in China, the 0.65oz/18ml toothpaste is subject to an urgent worldwide voluntary recall after test indicated some toothpaste samples contained diethylene glycol (DEG).
These tiny treasures were largely a guilty pleasure, taken more as keepsakes than for actual use. Then, last year liquids, gels and aerosols were banned from carry-on luggage. They could be packed in checked luggage, but any woman who has had a bottle of shampoo extrude in a shoe or lost the top of a bottle of perfume in transit will attest, that isn't really a good idea. When the ban was eased a month later, we started to breathe a sigh of relief. It turned into a moan of despair when we realized everything had to be in containers of 3 ounces or less.Suddenly, everyone was snatching up those tiny treasures from high-end hotels and resorts and hanging onto them for their next trip. That is what worries Gilchrist & Soames, a leading provider of toiletry products to the worldwide hotel industry, including 400 properties in North America. Company officials would not disclose the actual number of properties, if any, in Phoenix or Arizona provide Gilchrist & Soames toiletries.
Gilcrest & Soames halted all outgoing shipment, quarantined all "Made in China" toothpaste and began conducting independent tests upon receiving an alert from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 1. Although the Gilchrist & Soames toothpaste was not among those identified by the FDA as tainted, the Company suggested all its hotel clients stop offering the Chinese-made toothpaste until pending the results of the independent and FDA testing.
"The fifth round of our independent lab tests showed the presence of DEG in some samples at levels exceeding FDA guidelines from one of our China suppliers," Kathie De Voe, president of Gilchrist & Soames explained in a written statement to the media. "We immediately began the process of initiating a voluntary recall of our complimentary-sized (.65oz/18ml) Gilchrist & Soames toothpaste. We want to ensure that any contaminated toothpaste is safely disposed of and/or destroyed."
Hotels in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, Barbados, Dominican Republic, or Turks & Caicos that received the recalled toothpaste from the company's United States distribution center, and those located in the U.K., Ireland, Spain, Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and the UAE serviced by the company's U.K. distribution center, are being asked to destroy any remaining inventory. Toothpaste currently being distributed to properties by the Company is manufactured in the United States and is not branded Gilchrist & Soames.
Hotel guests, who may have received the recalled toothpaste from hotel in any of these countries, should safely dispose of it. 
"We are thankful that the small size of our tubes (.65ox/18ml) may help reduce the risk. However, we strongly encourage consumers to dispose of any of the recalled toothpaste they may still have," De Voe said.
The FDA is unaware of any American reports of poisoning from toothpaste containing DEG. Toothpaste is not intended to be swallowed, however, the FDA is concerned about unintentional swallowing or ingestion of toothpaste containing DEG as well as for the potential risks of chronic exposure. The voluntary recall is being conducted in cooperation with the FDA.
In addition to notifying hotel clients to discard their toothpaste inventories, the company is also working with each hotel on a guest notification. Materials will inform guests about the guests about this voluntary recall, including the FDA website and a toll-free number (866-587-6542) hotel guests may call for more information about the recall from Gilchrist & Soames headquarters in Indianapolis. Further information about toothpaste manufactured in China is also available in the European Union and local contact numbers for Gilchrist & Soames in Europe include:
- Belgium - 0032 080048630
- France - 0033 0805114958
- Germany - 004908000004988
- Hungary - 0036 0680018077
- Ireland - 00353 1800932251
- Italy - 0039 800986779
- Spain - 0034800098797
- Switzerland - 0041 0800 001285
- U.K. - 08003112139
