Eduardo Arias

Eduardo Arias is a Panamanian environmental analyst whose discovery of contaminated toothpaste saved lives by alerting the public to potentially poisonous products purchased from China. After purchasing a tube of toothpaste, Arias discovered that it contained diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic substance that had recently caused deaths as an ingredient of cough syrup. Arias reported his findings to the Panamanian Ministry of Health, which resulted in an investigation leading to Chinese manufacturers who included DEG in toothpaste and other products -- sometimes counterfeited to appear as mainstream brands such as Colgate and Sensodyne -- and then exported the contaminated products to countries around the world. Despite China's claims that Chinese consumers had not suffered ill effects from these products, the Chinese government did take action to prevent further use of DEG in its exports. Although Arias's discovery led to product recalls and warnings around the world, Arias's contribution was overlooked until a New York Times article on October 1, 2007.

references

Bogdanich, Walt (October 1, 2007), “The Everyman who Exposed Tainted Toothpaste”, The New York Times (New York, NY) p. 1