Tom’s of Maine Facing Class Action Lawsuit After FDA Cites Dangerous Bacteria, Mold in Products, Facilities

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Tom’s of Maine faces a proposed class action lawsuit after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last month said disease-causing bacteria and “mold-like powdery substances” were found in the company’s products, including toothpaste, and facilities.

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The 17-page lawsuit against Tom’s of Maine and parent company Colgate Palmolive says the FDA in November 2024 issued a warning to Tom’s after a May 2024 inspection of its Maine manufacturing facility found “significant violations” of current good manufacturing practices, including the presence of a “black mold-like substance” and reports that Tom’s had detected at least three species of harmful bacteria in water samples and a finished product. 

The case argues that consumers who’ve purchased Tom’s of Maine personal care products have not received the benefit of their bargain and would not have bought the items had they known the products were not as advertised. 

The complaint, citing the FDA’s warning letter, says the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can cause lung and blood infections, was recovered in multiple water samples from the Tom’s of Maine facility between June 2021 and October 2022. Per the suit, the water was used to make Tom’s Simply White clean mint toothpaste and to conduct a final rinse of certain production equipment. Tom’s of Maine also reported detecting Ralstonia insidiosa in water and Paracoccus yeei in the finished product Wicked Cool! Anticavity Toothpaste. 

The case claims that despite the microbial test results, Tom’s of Maine continued to distribute merchandise based on tests of final products while failing to investigate the quality of water used in its production processes. 

In fact, the FDA found that batches of products manufactured after the water samples were taken were released to the public “despite the quality of the water used as a component or to clean the equipment,” the suit states.

“Defendant Tom’s of Maine responded to the FDA by stating it is retrospectively looking into the incidents, and that the detection of Paracoccus yeei was due to a lab error,” the complaint says. “However, the agency said there is no evidence of that.” 

Per the case, the “mold-like substance” found at the Tom’s of Maine facility was located at “the base of a hose reel and behind a water storage tank at the facility,” roughly a foot away from equipment used to make toothpaste. 

Further still, the FDA found that Tom’s of Maine failed to investigate hundreds of consumer complaints concerning odor, color and taste of products “because they did not indicate a trend,” the lawsuit continues. 

The Tom’s of Maine class action lawsuit looks to cover all individuals in the United States who bought the Tom’s of Maine products at issue within the applicable statute of limitations period. 

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