Tom's of Maine non-animal test shows effectiveness of original toothpaste, FDA says.
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
TOM's OF MAINE TOOHTPASTE FORMULATIONS MUST BE INDIVIDUALLY TESTED for effectiveness, FDA tells the Kennebunk, Maine-based company in a recent letter. Tom's asked the agency in a Feb. 16 citizen petition to accept data from an intra-oral remineralization test in humans using the original Tom's Natural Toothpaste formula to show bioavailability of the fluoride ion in all of its fluoride toothpastes ("The Rose Sheet" March 4, p. 7). The company's corporate philosophy of not testing its products in animals conflicts with the OTC anticaries final monograph requirement that bioavailability be demonstrated through animal testing.