UPDATED! Pork Fat In Your Toothpaste: Emergency Kashrus and Halal ALERT
This was passed on to me in the names of Rabbi Yudel Shain and Rabbi Yisroel Hisiger:
CREST TOOTHPASTEThe Proctor and Gamble Company has made known that Crest, "Pro Health Toothpaste," is made with animal derived ingredients including pork fat.
The following Crest toothpastes are made WITHOUT animal derived ingredients and there is no information about presence or absence of alcohol in flavor.
1) Cavity Protection Toothpaste
a. Regular Flavor b. Cool Mint Jell
2) Anti Cavity Toothpaste
a. Regular Flavor b. Kid CrestThe rest of Crest toothpastes contain animal derived ingredients including pork fat.
Please pass this on to anyone who would care if their toothpaste is treif.
I would be remiss if I did not publicize this to the observant communities.
CAVEAT: I want to make it perfectly clear HERE that according to R' Yisro'el Belsky, kach shamati ha'yom, non-kosher ingredients in one's toothpaste do not necessarily render to the toothpaste forbidden (this would not be the case were we talking about mouthwash). This is not a cry for every tube of Crest to make its way into a garbage bag ASAP, rather, just an alert so that consumers can make educated choices free of any forbidden materials.
UPDATE:
Apparently this is an older Email. This email originally went out a while ago, and, according to FrumHouse (b'shem the Chicago Rabbinical Council) the key ingredient here is the glycerin.
The Halal Products Blog asked Crest officially in August of 2006 about this, and here was Crest's response and this is direct from the pig's horse's mouth:
Thanks for contacting Crest.Crest is made from raw materials that can come from either animal or vegetable sources. This may be either beef or pork, depending on available supplies. There is no way to determine which source is in any particular package of product. However, the animal source, if used, is chemically altered during manufacture and no longer resembles the original material by the time it is added to our product.
The following Crest versions / flavors contain NO animal derivatives:
Crest Anti-Cavity Regular Paste
Crest Cavity Protection Cool Mint Gel
Crest Cavity Protection Regular Paste
Crest Cavity Protection Icy Mint Striped (this was discontinued in March 2005)
Kid’s CrestNone of our Health Care products are certified kosher or carry the “U” or other kosher labeling. If you have a question about the acceptability for use, we suggest sharing consulting your rabbi who is in a better position to answer.
Thanks again for writing.
Ruth
Crest Team
Again, see above, and the Chicago Rabbinical Council also says that one's personal decision whether or not to use Crest is dependent on "one's philosophy", however, the fact remains.
There may be pork in the toothpaste.
Comments
You know, back in the mid-1800s the Muslims and Hindus in India rebelled against their Briish overlords because of something similar. Can you see it today? The Toothpaste Rebellion?
Chazzerei in toothpaste. What will they think of next. Feh!
Posted by: The Hesh Inc. | April 12, 2007 06:52 PM
Before we completely smear Crest, what is the ingredient in question? Because I've taken a look at the ingredient list and the MSDS and couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. The closest I could figure is they're concerned about the lactate used in one of the compounds, but we're talking about a level of chemical synthesis- not the actual mixing in of pig fat.
Posted by: judi | April 12, 2007 09:36 PM
This discussion is somewhat misguided. Most poskim do not consider toothpaste to be in the category of food (I am actually not aware of any who do, though there may be some). Therefore, even if you swallow some, it is not considered eating. There is NO prohibition on getting benefit from pig products - it is, for example, permitted to play football. Therefore there is no halakhic reason to care whether there are pig products in Crest toothpaste, and we really shouldn't even be discussing this question at all.
Posted by: Joshua Cahan | April 24, 2007 12:35 AM