MANILA, Philippines–Popular toothpaste brand Colgate is said to be using a chemical linked to growth of cancer cells and disrupted development of animals, according to a report.

Colgate Total, a product of Colgate-Palmolive Co., is using triclosan to fight plaque and gingivitis.

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However, an investigation by business and financial site Bloomberg into the recently-released approval papers of Colgate Total by the US Food and Drug Administration found that “the scientific findings Colgate put forward to establish triclosan’s safety in toothpaste weren’t black and white — and weren’t, until this year, available to the public.”

The approval papers of Colgate Total also cited a research done by Colgate-Palmolive Co. in 1997 showing fetal bone malformations in mice and rats.

Also, Bloomberg revealed that the US FDA approved Colgate Total using researches sourced from Colgate-Palmolive, shedding doubts into the approval process of the said product.

An independent study also revealed that triclosan caused breast cancer in cells and in mice. Another research showed that exposure to triclosan induced neurological damage to mice.

Colgate dismissed the supposed risks of using triclosan in their product and maintained the safety of Colgate Total. According to Colgate, the safety of Colgate Total is supported by 80 clinical studies involving 19,000 people.

“In the nearly 18 years that Colgate Total has been on the market in the US, there has been no signal of a safety issue from adverse-event reports,” Colgate spokesman Thomas DiPiazza said.

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