Tom's of Maine's toothpaste was made with water that contained bacteria, according to a warning letter sent to the company from the Food and Drug Administration following an inspection earlier this year.
The FDA said, in addition to the bacteria-contaminated water used in "Tom’s Simply White Clean Mint Paste,” the inspection unveiled bacterial growth in the company's "Wicked Cool! Anticavity Toothpaste" and a “black mold-like substance” found near water storage tanks.
The administration sent a warning letter to the company on Nov. 5 outlining the violations that were flagged during the visit to the facility in Sanford, Maine. Tom's of Maine is owned by Colgate-Palmolive.
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Tom's has 15 days to respond to the letter and explain how it plans to address the violations.
“It is essential that your facility is in a good state of repair and sanitary conditions are maintained to protect drug products from potential routes of contamination,” the FDA said.
Tom's told CNN it is working with the FDA to remedy the issues.
