Toothpaste recall pulls 4.3 million tubes from US shelves
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- The FDA listed a recall of about 4.3 million toothpaste tubes as Class II on October 19, 2026.
- Affected brands are Brush Buddies, evo, and ARU. Most are kids flavors like Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Crayola.
- No reports of harm have been published. Check your lot numbers against the FDA list.
The FDA has pulled about 4.3 million tubes of toothpaste from US shelves. The recall covers many kids flavors, like Barbie and Hot Wheels. The agency made it public on October 19, 2026. It called the recall Class II.
Class II means the products may cause short-term health problems. But the chance of serious harm is remote. That is the FDA's own language, reported by The Healthy.
What happened
The company started the recall on September 10, 2026. It took 39 days before the FDA listed it in its public enforcement report. The report came out on October 19, 2026.
The recalling company is Pritam International Private Limited. It is based in India.
The tubes were distributed by Ashtel Studios, a company in Ontario, California. That is according to the FDA report.
The stated reason is "CGMP deviations." CGMP stands for Current Good Manufacturing Practice. These are FDA rules for how drug products must be made.
They cover clean factories, correct materials, and proper testing. The rules are meant to stop contamination and mistakes.
The FDA did not say exactly what went wrong in the factory. No published account names a specific problem with the tubes.
Darin Detwiler is a food safety expert at Northeastern University. He told NTD that such deviations matter.
"Deviations from cGMPs can compromise the integrity of the entire production process," he said.
Being on the recall list does not prove a tube is unsafe. It means the tube was not made under the rules the FDA requires.
Which toothpastes are affected
The recall covers 17 product varieties in total. Two published totals differ slightly: 4,301,700 tubes per Hearst Television and 4,298,900 tubes per NTD.
Both come from the same FDA enforcement event. The gap between them is 2,800 tubes.
The brands are Brush Buddies, BB, evo, and ARU. Most of the recalled tubes are kids flavors.
These include Brush Buddies Barbie bubble gum. They include Brush Buddies Hot Wheels strawberry.
They include Brush Buddies Crayola Silly Scents in bubble gum, watermelon, and strawberry. They include Brush Buddies My Little Pony bubble gum.
Ice cream flavors are also on the list. These include vanilla, mint chocolate chip, cookies and cream, and chocolate.
Adult products are covered too. The largest single line is Brush Buddies Whitening with Baking Soda. It covers 797,868 tubes, according to The Healthy.
Other recalled products include BB Cavity Protection and BB Advanced Whitening. They include evo Advanced Whitening and evo Sensitive. They include ARU Gum Health and ARU Cavity Protection.
The tubes were sold across the United States. NTD reported that many were sold on eBay and Amazon.
The FDA report does not name specific stores. The Healthy notes these brands are also sold at Walmart and Dollar Tree.
This is not the first recall to hit household products this month. Read about the acetaminophen recall over discolored tablets for another recent FDA action.
Why it matters
Kids are the main concern here. Many of the recalled tubes are made for children.
They carry cartoon brands and sweet flavors. Children are more likely to swallow toothpaste while brushing.
Swallowed fluoride toothpaste adds to a child's fluoride intake. Federal health sources track this closely.
The CDC notes toothpaste can form a large share of fluoride intake in young children. That is true in general, not a finding about these tubes.
The recall is voluntary. That means the company itself pulled the products.
The FDA then classified the action as Class II. This middle-level rating is not the agency's most serious one. The most serious rating is Class I.
No published account says anyone was harmed. No source reports illnesses linked to these tubes.
The recall is a safety step. The products were made outside the required rules.
Still, the 39-day gap raises a question. The company acted on September 10. The public listing came on October 19. During those weeks, families could not check the official FDA list.
Global 1 News notes that the public record does not explain the delay.
Recalls of consumer products happen often. Families can check them the same way each time.
The listeria cheese recall shows how to read an FDA recall list for food. The same steps work for any recall.
What to do if you have one of these tubes
First, check the brand and flavor on the tube. If it is Brush Buddies, BB, evo, or ARU, read on. Next, find the lot number.
It is usually printed on the crimped end of the tube. Recalled lots begin with the letters LWP. The product codes begin with 84140.
That is according to a structured summary of the FDA notice published by Recall Canary.
The tubes also carry the words "MADE IN INDIA" on the label. They name Ashtel Studios as the distributor. If your tube matches all these marks, stop using it.
You can also ask your pharmacist or doctor. They can check whether your lot is affected.
No published notice offers a refund or replacement process as of October 20, 2026. That may change, so check back.
Keep following the normal label directions for kids. Use a pea-sized amount for children aged 2 to 6. Watch them while they brush and rinse.
For children under 2, ask a dentist or doctor first. Do not let children swallow toothpaste.
This article is for information only. It is not medical advice. If you are worried, talk to a dentist or doctor.
Food products face similar factory-rule problems. See the Costco turkey gravy recall for another recent example of a label-related recall.
What happens next
The FDA list will grow if more lots are found. Retailers pull the tubes from shelves as the recall spreads.
The agency may add details about the factory problem later. It has not done so yet.
Watch for updates on the FDA enforcement report page. The event number is 99849. That number will lead you to the latest entry for this recall.
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