Tom's of Maine's kids toothpaste tested for levels of lead and arsenic that triggered a class-action lawsuit.
Tom's of Maine Children's Silly Strawberry Toothpaste had 240 parts-per-billion of lead and 40 parts-per-billion of arsenic, which is 48 times and eight times above levels recommended for baby food, according to a January 2025 lab test by Lead Safe Mama, a website that tests products for toxins.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers fluroide-free toothpaste a "cosmetic," meaning it is acceptable to have up to 10,000 parts-per-billion of lead.
But scientifc recommendations in the unpassed legislation Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 sets acceptable levels at or below five parts-per-billion for lead and 10 parts-per-billion for arsenic.
"Yes, we understand toothpaste is not a food," Lead Safe Mama owner Tamara Rubin said. "But children ingest it (even toddlers) daily — several times a day at that."
Lead and arsenic can build up in a child's body and damage the brain, growth and development, among other harms.
Colgate-Palmolive, the parent company of Tom's of Maine, didn't immediately respond to ConsumerAffairs's request for comment.
"We are hoping the outcome of this initiative will be the FDA creating a new regulatory standard for Lead in toothpastes intended for use by children — a standard acknowledging the stance of all federal agencies that there is no safe level of Lead exposure for children," Rubin said.
Class-action lawsuit against Tom's of Maine
A class-action lawsuit brought by Sultzer Law Group followed the Lead Safe Mama testing that found the lead and arsenic in the Tom's of Maine toothpaste, ClassAction.org reports.
"Defendants omit from their website the extreme danger of children consuming toothpaste that has been contaminated with lead and arsenic," the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit aims to represent any consumers who bought the toothpaste in the U.S.
Sultzer Law Group attorneys on the case, Philip J. Furia and Jason P. Sultzer, can be reached via email at pfuria@thesultzerlawgroup.com and sultzerj@thesultzerlawgroup.com, respectively.
Email Dieter Holger at dholger@consumeraffairs.com.