People who have food allergies always have to read ingredients labels to make sure none of the things they are allergic to is in the product. Some of the most common allergens are milk, eggs, peanuts, seafood, and gluten. Those with allergies to any of these items could suffer health threatening reactions.
One would never suspect that any of these ingredients was contained in a toothpaste, let alone a kids toothpaste. When one scrutinizes the Aquafresh for Kids label, it seems perfectly safe and appropriate for kids with allergies.
*MOUSE PRINT: According to this video news story from WCVB-TV, Kids Aquafresh contains peanut oil, but there is no disclosure of this life-threatening ingredient on the label.
A mother discovered this hidden ingredient the hard way when her child became ill.
GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Aquafresh, says that the peanut oil is not listed on their label because they are not required to — only food products must list major allergens, not health and beauty aids.
On the Aquafresh website, in a FAQ, they say the product does not contain gluten, and the tube does not contain latex. But, there is no disclosure there about peanut oil.
The worst mouse print is the mouse print that is missing. Whether the law requires it or not, companies that market products that may cause a serious allergic reaction, particularly for children’s products, should disclose that possible threat.
UPDATE: August 4, 2006
On the website for the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, GlaxoSmithKline says they told consumers that Aquafresh for kids had peanut oil to “be on safe side” since they didn’t know for sure. Now they say it has no peanut oil. Here is their statement:
“The health and safety of the consumers who use our products is of utmost importance, and we would like to assure them that no Aquafresh toothpaste products contain flavors with peanut oil, peanuts or peanut derivatives.
“We were recently contacted by several consumers requesting information about the possibility of trace amounts of peanut oil in our Aquafresh toothpaste products.  It was our belief that trace amounts of peanut oil could be present in certain flavor blends purchased by Aquafresh from external flavor suppliers. Consequently, we responded to those consumers that there was a possibility that trace amounts of peanut oil may be present in some Aquafresh products.
“Subsequently, we have contacted our flavor suppliers to confirm this information. We are pleased to learn that all of the flavor blends currently used to manufacture Aquafresh toothpaste contain no peanuts, no peanut oil and no peanut derivatives.
“Until we were able to validate our flavor blend information, we chose to err on the side of caution and told consumers that the products may contain trace amounts of peanut oil. In light of how serious some allergies can be, we felt that was the right thing to do. As an additional assurance, we are arranging to have independent tests of our toothpaste conducted.
“We apologize if this has caused any confusion or concern among our loyal customers. If consumers have additional questions, they may contact us toll free at (800) 897-5623.â€Â    Â