By George P. Hassett

Every morning for a week Saeed used the new triple action toothpaste. It tasted funny, but he thought it was just a new flavor strengthened to help whiten his teeth. But what Saeed, who declined to give his last name, was really putting in his mouth may have been a toxic, counterfeit toothpaste that is part of a botched batch being recalled nationwide. And Saeed wasn‚Äôt just consuming the toothpaste, he was also selling it at his QF Mart, a convenience store at 152 Highland Ave. 

The Food and Drug Administration Thursday recalled imported fake Colgate tubes that contained the poisonous chemical diethylene glycol (DEG), used in antifreeze and as a central nervous system depressant. Cases were reported in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Now, some believe the noxious tubes have shown up in Somerville.  Already one of Saeed‚Äôs  customer has complained of getting sick from the toothpaste, Saeed said. However, Saeed himself said there were no harmful effects besides a bad taste.

“I used it for a week. I thought it was just a stronger flavor that didn’t taste very good,” he said. “But the first thing I’m doing after work today is going to the doctors.”

Saeed said he took all tubes off the shelf and will meet with city officials and his sick customer Tuesday night. “I want to thank him for bringing attention to this problem. I would have just kept using it probably but he has saved myself and other people in the community from possibly getting sick,” he said.

Saeed said he has not been able to reach representatives from Colgate, but he has spoken with the product’s distributor J. Polep about ways to prevent this from happening again. The poisoned paste was manufactured in South Africa, according to Saeed, and the tube itself was full of misspellings.
City spokesman Thomas P. Champion said inspectors from the city’s health department will be investigating the incident to determine if it was a tainted shipment. Health Department Director Noreen Burke will be coordinating the probe, he said.

“Until we learn more details, we will be treating this as a public health incident,” he said.
Saeed said he has always used Colgate and will not stop because of this incident, though he may “take a break for a few weeks,” until the facts come out. For him, communicating with his clientele and sharing what he knows about the poison paste is most important, he said.

‚ÄúWe have been here for six years and I consider my customers to be family. They support me and I would never lie to them or do anything that may hurt them. This was a very serious incident and I just want to keep their trust by being totally open about what happened,‚Äù he said.