Colgate Total® Brand Partners With Celebrity Chef Lorena Garcia To Create Healthy And Happy Mouths Across America

NEW YORK, May 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Colgate today announced the Colgate Total® brand's partnership with celebrity chef, Lorena Garcia, to engage foodies across the country and guide them on the path to a healthy mouth and palate.

Colgate added Colgate Total® Mouthwash to its broad portfolio of oral care products last year. This great tasting mouthwash is alcohol free. It not only freshens your breath, but is also clinically proven to kill 99% of germs on contact and provide 12-hour germ protection, even after you eat and drink. Plus, it helps improve mouth health by significantly reducing plaque and the gum disease gingivitis, keeping your mouth healthy and feeling fresh.

"As a chef, my palate is my greatest asset, and it's important that I keep my mouth healthy," says Garcia.  "It's a combination of practice and protecting, which is why I use Colgate Total^® Mouthwash.  I simply swish after brushing and enjoy tasting food all day long with the confidence that my mouth is being protected from harmful germs, even after I eat and drink."

The new partnership will kick-off at the annual BlogHer Food Conference in Miami, Florida on Friday, May 16.  At the conference, Chef Lorena will be dishing up great recipes at the Colgate Total® booth, conducting blind taste tests and sharing the benefits of Colgate Total® Mouthwash.   Chef Lorena will also appear at another major food festival later this summer, the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party in New York City.

To ignite your culinary experience at home, Chef Lorena has shared the following tips to help consumers enjoy all their favorite dishes while keeping their mouths protected:

• Avoid drinking sugary drinks: I find they dull your taste buds, and make it harder to taste all the flavors.
• Cleanse your palate: It is important to have a neutral palate so you can taste all the flavors of the next dish. My go-to tricks are sucking on a lemon wedge or eating a bread stick. Taking a few sips of sparkling water is also a good way to cleanse your palate.
• Challenge yourself: I keep a couple of spice jars on my counter. I hide the labels so that every now and then, I can pick one up, stick my nose in it, and try to identify it. I've gotten fairly good at it. This can also be done as a game with the entire family. Have everyone take turns identifying herbs such as basil, cilantro, and parsley.
• Most importantly, maintain a healthy mouth: I taste food all day and I don't have time to brush in between. That's why I use Colgate Total^® Mouthwash – it gives me the germ protection I need between brushings and is effective for up to 12 hours, even after eating and drinking.

"Partnering with Chef Lorena is an opportunity to excite and educate consumers about keeping their mouths happy and healthy," says Philip Durocher, General Manager, U.S. Oral Care Marketing, Colgate-Palmolive.  "With Colgate Total^® Mouthwash, you can enjoy all your favorite foods while knowing your mouth is being protected from harmful mouth germs– even after eating and drinking!"

Colgate Total^® Mouthwash is available at mass retail, drug and grocery stores nationwide. For more product information and to receive Chef Lorena's tips, visit www.colgatetotal.com.

About Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive is a leading global consumer products company, tightly focused on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Colgate-Palmolive sells its products in over 200 countries and territories around the world, under such internationally recognized brand names as Colgate, Palmolive, Mennen, Softsoap, Irish Spring, Protex, Sorriso, Kolynos, Elmex, Tom's of Maine, Sanex, Ajax, Axion, Soupline, and Suavitel, as well as Hill's Science Diet and Hill's Prescription Diet. For more information about Colgate-Palmolive's global business, visit the Company's website at www.Colgate.com. To learn more about Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures®, Colgate's global oral health education program, please visit http://www.colgatebsbf.com.

About Colgate Total^® Products
The Colgate Total® line features a broad portfolio of products that provide a range of oral care benefits.  Each product has a formula that helps improve the health of your mouth, to make you confident you are taking better control of your oral care.  Colgate Total® toothpaste has an antibacterial formula clinically proven to actively fight plaque germs for 12 hours. It is the only toothpaste both approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)* and accepted by the American Dental Association to fight plaque and gingivitis. Colgate Total® toothpaste also is the number-one toothpaste recommended most by dentists and hygienists.

*Colgate Total® toothpaste is approved through the New Drug Application process to help prevent plaque, gingivitis and cavities. Not approved for the prevention or treatment of serious gum disease or other diseases.

SOURCE Colgate