Not satisfied with poisoning our pets, killing dozens of Panamanians, feeding us antibiotics unapproved by the FDA and selling us poisonous pufferfish labeled as monkfish, China is now exporting deadly chemicals in toothpaste sold to Australia, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, and possibly the US.

WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials are beginning to check all shipments of toothpaste coming from China after reports of tainted Chinese products in other countries, a government spokesman said Wednesday.

The Food and Drug Administration has no evidence that contaminated toothpaste has made its way into the United States but is taking the step as a precaution, agency spokesman Doug Arbesfeld said.

China — the second-largest exporter of toothpaste to the United States behind Canada, according to the FDA — has been at the forefront of growing concerns about its standards as well as the U.S. government’s ability to monitor foods and other products.

… Tests on products pulled from shelves in Panama showed they contained high levels of diethylene glycol, which is used in engine coolants. Investigators in that country said two toothpaste brands were imported illegally from China through a free-trade zone.

It was not immediately clear which brands of toothpaste sold in the United States are made in China.

I’d be very interested in knowing how many of their own countrymen the Chinese kill because of lax standards and fraud in manufacturing. If they’re this sloppy about what they ship out, and what they know will undergo at least some inspection, I’d hate to see what they do with products that stay at home.

Steve Cornett at AgWeb has an eminently sensible suggestion for these problems: Use Country of Origin Labeling and turn the Chinese over to MADD.