According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a recent inspection of a Tom’s facility in Maine found that the company’s toothpaste was made using water containing bacteria, among other serious health violations.

Inside a warning letter The FDA told CEO Noel Wallace that the inspection revealed disease-causing bacteria in the water used to make Tom’s Simply White Clean Mint Paste. The water sample was taken between June 2021 and October 2022.

The company revealed a different bacteria in Wicked Cool! The FDA said Anticavity Toothpaste justified bacteria as “sample contamination” without sufficient evidence.

An agency investigator also found a mold-like substance near a water storage tank at the company’s facility in Sanford, Maine, and a powdery residue on the surface near the station where Tom’s Silly Strawberry Anticavity is made.

The FDA letter stated that the facility’s water system was inadequate and that the company needed a better complaint system to address consumer concerns.

“For example, approximately 400 complaints about (odor), (colour) and taste in your toothpaste products, including those intended for children, were not investigated,” the letter said.

“These complaints are not investigated because your procedure requires an investigation only when a trend is identified.”

The agency added that it was not intended to be a comprehensive list of the violations outlined in the letter and that it was the company’s responsibility to determine the cause of the violations and prevent their recurrence.

Tom’s of Maine is a natural personal care brand owned by household products giant Colgate-Palmolive. CBC News has reached out to the company for a statement.

“We are working with the FDA and resolving the issues uncovered during an inspection of Tom’s toothpaste manufacturing facility in Sanford, Maine, in May,” a spokesperson said.

“We have always tested finished products before they leave our control and we are completely confident in the safety and quality of the toothpaste we produce.”

CBC News also reached out to several retailers to ask if they carried any of the products mentioned in the letter.