MUMBAI: Consumer product companies in India are phasing out the controversial anti-bacterial 'triclosan' from soap and toothpaste products. The US FDA had banned triclosan from consumer anti-bacterial soaps and body washes a couple of years ago.
Leading dental care company Colgate-Palmolive (India) has removed triclosan from its toothpaste following a global move by the parent company. Colgate-Palmolive (India) has reformulated its premium toothpaste as New Colgate Total by replacing triclosan with zinc and arginine which, the company claims, makes the new product better than the one with triclosan.
Leading soap maker Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has already phased out triclosan from both its soaps/handwash and toothpaste products, a spokesperson confirmed.
An official spokesperson from Colgate-Palmolive (India) said, "In India, the use of triclosan in Colgate Total was in conformance with the standards prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards and approved by the Indian FDA." The spokesperson maintained that the US FDA approved Colgate Total with triclosan as "safe and effective" and that approval has not changed.
When triclosan was banned in soaps, the American oral care multinational had reportedly strongly defended the usage of the ingredient in its largest selling toothpaste brand on the grounds that the benefits override any risks associated with the chemical.
In the late '90s, triclosan was the main point for a marketing and advertising battle fought between Pepsodent and Colgate. It was a time when marketers flaunted the presence of triclosan in their products. HUL came up with an advertisement comparing the efficacies of Pepsodent with Colgate Dental Cream. Pepsodent used triclosan to say that it was "102% better than the ordinary toothpaste".
The mid-priced Colgate Dental Cream initially did not contain triclosan and it was forced to change its tag line from " Stops bad breath, fights tooth decay " to " Stop bad breath, fight tooth decay ". It later added triclosan to remain competitive. The warring parties later reconciled because now both brands had triclosan. But following the campaign, HUL managed to take a bite off Colgate's share. Today, however, Colgate continues to be a market leader with a volume share of around 52%, while HUL's total share is around 17%.
An HUL spokesperson said, "Pepsodent does not contain triclosan." What started as concerns on pharmaceutical molecule offerings is now spreading to the soft spaces of consumption items such as toothpaste, talcum powder and more. Brand expert Harish Bijoor, founder of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc, said there's a need for a complete brand ingredient audit across categories.
The effects of the presence of triclosan in different products is varied and differs from each product, said Ashwin Bhadri, CEO of Equinox Labs, a food safety and auditing company.
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