Fact check: Does toothpaste colour code reveal its ingredients?

Origin

The internet houses a lot of valuable information which helps people through their day to day lives. But, the internet is also a hub for many to share false information which can result in misleading people. Through the years, a number of videos and social media posts claiming that toothpaste colour codes actually reveal the ingredients present in it have done the rounds on the internet. 

According to the posts, the green mark on the toothpaste translates to the manufacturer using all-natural ingredients to make it, blue colour code means it is a mixture of medication and natural ingredients, red marking natural and chemical ingredients and finally, black marking the toothpaste to contain only chemical ingredients. These posts also furthermore burger people to avoid kinds of toothpaste with red and black colour codes as they can be harmful. But, the colour codes on toothpaste do not actually mean what they are claimed to be. 

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Image courtesy - YouTube

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Colour code on toothpaste - why they exist?

The coloured rectangle at the end of a toothpaste tube does not have to do anything with the ingredients. It is a small mark which is made during the manufacturing of the product. The marks on a toothpaste tube can be read by light beam sensors, which notify machines responsible for packaging where the tube should be cut, folded and ultimately seated. These marks come in different colours in order to adhere to the different types of packaging or with different sensors and machines. 

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The ingredients of a toothpaste tube can be found usually on its box or on the tube itself. Usually, toothpaste consists of fixed ingredients which include abrasives to clean teeth, flavouring agents, humectants to soften the toothpaste and detergents which help form a foam. A humectant material like glycerol, xylitol, and sorbitol are used to prevent the paste from hardening. Abrasives like calcium carbonate and silica help in removing food debris and polishing the teeth.Whereas flavouring agents like spearmint, peppermint, anise, bubblegum, or cinnamon help in fighting bad breath. Besides this, binding agents like carboxymethyl cellulose, carrageenan, or xanthan gum can also be found in toothpaste in order to prevent separation. 

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