Toothpastes are essential for good oral hygiene. They help fight dental plaque, provide long-lasting protection against cavities and prevent bad breath. There are various toothpaste brands in the market that meet all needs. But have you ever noticed a colored stripe on your tube of toothpaste? What does it mean ?
On toothpaste packaging and tubes, manufacturers often only indicate the components of this product, its brand, its manufacturing and expiration date. You may have noticed colored bands on toothpaste tubes that the manufacturers forgot to explain to us.
What do these colored bands on toothpaste tubes mean?
For some time now, “false information” has been circulating that these colored strips are used to indicate the components of toothpaste and their degree of harm to our health. According to this rumor, the colored squares or rectangles at the bottom of the toothpaste tube are different colors and each color indicates the composition of the toothpaste.
Green = This product contains natural components
Blue = This product contains natural and medicinal components
Red = This product contains natural and chemical components
Black = This product contains purely chemical components
This information is completely false and there is no connection between these colored bands and the composition of toothpastes. According to the Association Santé Environnement France (ASEF), these strips serve as reference points helping the machine and the cutting robot in the manufacture of these tubes and packaging. Colors help differentiate and make tubes to a standard shape and size. They can also serve as a reference for traceability and to easily detect a defective batch.
These colors are usually darker than the colors on the rest of the packaging, so the machine can read and detect them more easily. These colored stripes can be found in other food and commercial product packaging, such as cereal packets, cookies and milk cartons. In fact, toothpaste tubes are made with long strips which are cut after depending on the chosen size and the colors are different and vary depending on the manufacturer and the product.
