pseudomonas - png toothpaste scam

In other news there is a toothpaste scam going on in PNG! Someone is supplying PNG with pseudo-colgate toothpaste. Authorities are on to it, though, and have started doing raids on stores (“mostly foreign-owned” stores the local rag reassures).

There are seven fake varieties. They contain “much less” than the recommended fluoride levels, and may have “a certain bacteria called pseudomonas (pronounced sudomonas)” the said newspaper reported – but I’m not sure if that last part was a joke…

Colgate-Palmolive HQ (Sydney) said the fakes did not contain the required ingredients “to prevent cavities and gun disease”. Definitely a concern when you’re living in PNG.

The newspaper carefully listed all of the fraudulent versions, pointing out helpful clues of the evil kind, like “Colgate 105g, which has a picture of an Asian family and has Chinese writing”. Aha! (There’s a lot of fear and suspicion – if not outright racism – towards outsiders, particularly “Asian” people, usually Philippino and Chinese, especially business owners.)

Like any good citizen, I was concerned and went and checked my toothpaste at home. Thinking about it, I realised that it did taste a bit funny. Perhaps it was not real Colgate. Unfortunately, my colgate was made in Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam, and covered in a language I can’t read, so I still don’t know if I am brushing my teeth with pseudomonas.