Toxic toothpaste taken off sale

The fake toothpaste has both English and Arabic writing

Hundreds of tubes of potentially toxic toothpaste have been seized by trading standards officers in Stoke-on-Trent.

About 125 tubes of the counterfeit Sensodyne toothpaste which contains a chemical found in anti-freeze were seized from a shop in Burslem.

The chemical, diethylene glycol, can be toxic to children or people with liver or kidney problems.

The fake tubes have both English and Arabic lettering, while the real ones use only English in the UK.

Their batch code is PROD 07 2005/EXP 08/2008.

Authorised stockist

The genuine toothpaste is also white in colour, while the fake product is green.

Council community safety spokesman Paul Shotton said: "There is currently no evidence that anyone has suffered ill effects from using the toothpaste, but we would advise anyone who has a fake tube in their bathroom cabinet to throw it away - and buy a genuine tube from an authorised stockist."

He added that the fake tubes were believed to have been imported from China.

Councillor Shotton also urged anyone who has seen other fake tubes on sale to contact the council immediately.