Eduardo Arias

Eduardo Arias is a Panamanian citizen of Kuna Indian descent, whose discovery of contaminated toothpaste saved lives by alerting the public to potentially poisonous products purchased from China.

Early life

Arias was born and grew up in a reservation in one of the San Blas Islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama.

Toothpaste recall

On May 5, 2007, upon purchasing a tube of toothpaste from the Vendela Discount Store in Panama City, Arias discovered that it contained diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic substance that had recently caused deaths as an ingredient of cough syrup. On May 7, Arias reported his findings to the Panamanian Ministry of Health. On May 10, Dr. Camilo Alleyne, the top health official of the Panamian Government announced that DEG had been found in toothpaste being sold in Panama City. A national uproar resulted in an investigation, the results of which indicated that Chinese manufacturers were systematically using DEG as a thickening agent (in place of Glycerin, which is more commonly used, but is more expensive) at levels that were far above safety limits. Investigations have also indicated that counterfeiters in China, sometime using branded labels such as Colgate and Sensodyne, have managed to penetrate markets in Canada, USA, India and Nigeria.

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' discovery led to product recalls and warnings around the world, his contribution was overlooked until a New York Times article appeared on October 1, 2007.

Current Life

Arias currently lives alone in Panama City. He was listed as one of the People Who Mattered in the Person of the Year section of Time magazine in the year 2007.