Jody, great find!! Glad you found some more of your favorate detergent.

Fish killer Hahaha. Explsin to your daughter that once the gov. restricted phosphates it didn't solve the problem. Lol.

Help me understand this, I was under the impression that phosphates were no longer in any Ariel, even if it had an import sticker. If it still has phosphates then I can find it in NYC. I have passed it up because I thought it didn't have phosphates.

My understanding is that the reason the import sticker is on the package is because P&G has to let it be known that the product was made for use in a foreign country and was not meant to be imported into the US. That covers their butt. This is the sticker I am talking about:

"This product is not a product authorized by the United States trademark owner for importation and is physically and materially different from the authorizaed product."

Yes, I have seen that sticker in most of the Hispanic grocery stores, but I thought I read here that P&G took phosphates out of all Ariel, even the Latin American ones. I hope I'm wrong because I can get some fish killer also. I wonder how to find out for sure. I'm sure a call to P&G will not help.

Only if you call P&G Mexico..P&G USA can not help....all phosphates have been removed from Ariel...I haven't a clue about the sticker although it may have nothing to do with phosphates...unless its old stock....Jody is your bag have a sticker?

Jody I ment does your bag have a date anywhere?

I don't think the sticker has anything to do with covering their butt since it was perfectly legal to import it from Mexico to a US Mexican grocery store. I think these stickers are on all imported goods..look at the bottles of Coke in the Mexican store...mine had the same stickers, as did the Mexican Downy and the bars of Camey bath soap.

P&G did try to stop the importation of their phosphated detergents, but they couldn't so instead they took the phosphate content off the bags...that was a few yea rs ago.

Honestly, what replaced the "dangerous" Phosphates is worse than natural Phosphates. Laundry and DW detergents now perform worse w/o Phosphates....and it is believed Phosphates in detergents were responsible for less than 2-5% of algae bloom in waterways!!

So regardless of imported or not if it is fairly new stock it doesn't have phosphates. Correct?

I don't see a date. I do believe my detergent has phosphates in it because the water is awfully slippery when I use it. I would be very disappointed to find out my sizable stock does not have it.

Yes all phosphates were stopped in all of P&G's foreign detetgents awhile back...I want to say the beginning of 2016.....some stores may still have old stock, but I'd have no idea how to tell old from newer. Lol....

Larsi is correct about phosphates...now we have several toxic ingredients to replace what phosphates did on it own.

Actually... unless a P&G laundry product says (Spanish) "no contiene fosfatos" or (French) "sans phosphate"... it should be assumed that the product does contain phosphates.

Not anymore Lisa.

P&G stopped listing phosphates on their Mexican detergents a good while ago so there would be no need to list there is none now.

Sorry Jody, I hope you got lucky.

Right now I have enough detergent except for something without enzymes. Just used up the Tide Simple and I really want Cheer for Darks powder or liquid and can't find it except in giant sized. And to think I before I found this place I only had All liquid and Qxi-Clean. Now I check every store I go in and look for some new or wonderful laundry product. I even dreamed about a suds overflow and having to clean it up. And I was actually enjoying it in my dream. LOL

Mamas, a lot of US detergents state "does not contain phosphates", even though they've been free of them for some years.

Yep, but P&G's Ariel used to list Sodium TripolyPhosphate on the bags..once P&G could not stop importation of it to Mexican grocery stores they removed that from the ing. list in hopes it would stop some Americans from buying it instead of Tide.

P&G made a public announcement in 2015 that all phosphates would be removed from their products the beginning of 2016. Regardless if its labled contains no ****. There's been no phosphates in it since. Except in old stock.

Its still a good product and if you need phosphates its easy enough to add yourself.

I told myself I wouldn't post on here again after a certain member sent me such a nasty & trashy email.

But I did wish to provide some clarity. I purchased a bag of "Mexican" Ariel Powder just a few weeks ago, that had been manufactured just a month before I purchased it.

Needless to say, I did look through the ingredient list and it doesn't say anything about the Phosphate Content, although... P&G hasn't published it on the label since 2011 if that. As of right now the product still contains Phosphates, and it hasn't been removed as of yet. And I'd go further and say, I do think they'd print "NO CONTIENE FOSFATO" like all the other manufacturers have done (look at Omo, Viva, Foca, Roma, etc). They've always done it in all of their other lines, rather it be German Ariel or American Tide.

Now.... I have seen the stuff appear at Duane Reade (a la Walgreens) in Manhatten which was unusual, as well as some other chain stores. However, that product is materially different than the imported version and should be noted as such. It will not contain Phosphates of any sort. It also has a very different scent in my opinion than the original product. Almost like a Knock-Off, honestly. It's kinda like the Ariel USA, but... worse.

I'd also go further and say, I don't think American's were purchasing Ariel instead of Tide. The vast majority of the general public doesn't put much thinking into Laundry Products, and wouldn't know the difference between an Optical Brightener & Enzyme if you asked them. P&G of course, knows it was, and still is happening, but... it's such a small number, probably less than .03%, that it's not really high on their radar. The majority of people who we're purchasing Ariel Detergent (and still are) are people who loved the brand in Mexico and wanted to continue using it here.

L M- First I want to say I am very sorry that anyone would send nasty emails.

I live in Queens and frequent the Hispanic Groceries, but have not purchased any new Ariel. I was under the impression that all phosphates had been removed. How do you know that a bag has phosphates? If I could be sure I would certainly stock up. I find that Ariel cleans better than most other detergents, but only have two small bags pre-2016 left.

@hmorton, because how similar the "real" and "knockoff" stuff is, I'd first say you have to be careful, as the packaging will really try to deceive you. But... one thing that I noticed, between the two, is just the detergent itself.

^This is the "new" stuff, I've seen appear at many stores. Including Duane Reade/Walgreens, Family Dollar, Target, as well as that evil store I no longer shop at called "Wal-Mart".

And this is the bag I purchased, from the Mexican Grocery. It was actually a steal at $8/5kg. Gotta Love Sales!!! :)

You can tell there is a dramatic difference. The scent is much cleaner, it has the red spheres (which are supposed to be enzymes)... and the packaging also doesn't mention anything about the Phosphates. Previously, the packaging didn't list Phosphates or anything about the content... and it's been that way for quite a while, so nothing new there.

I also dissolved a small amount of Ariel Doble Poder (old, Phosphate laden bag from 2012) as well as... some of the new stuff, into separate cups of water, and they both felt very slippery. While the "knock off" Ariel, didn't... although it did make me hand feel very dry, unlike the others. (Which led me to think, it probably has a lot of Carbonates in it, instead of STPP)

I also did a small test with a really old aquarium kit, and the new stuff *did* contain Phosphates, and a large amount at that, according to the strip. However... the test kit is particularly old and I wonder how accurate it might have been. I really should just mail some to Sandy and ask her opinion, she knows a lot more about the testing part than I do.

To answer your question though... I think, for the time being, the current production still contains phosphates, and you should try a very small bag (many of the stores here carry 250-500g bags) and see what you think. As well as get a good look at the color of the powder.

Also... something notable about the knockoff stuff.

Not only does it clearly say, "NO PHOSPHATE"... but it also has an English translation never seen before.

The "real, real" Ariel Powder... is completely printed in Spanish and doesn't have that notation.

My thoughts were since it didn't list phosphates there was no reason to now list no phosphates....that being said Mich I mentioned quite awhile ago that us people that are used to working with phosphated detergent can tell from feeling it if there's phosphates in it, you know what I mean, it has a *feel* to it that can only come from phosphates.

So what is your thoughts on P&G announcing all phosphates will be removed in 2016?

Surely there's a way to find out if any given detergent has phosphates or not. Black light tests are worthless as OB's also glow in the dark.

Another thing to note is the Ariel found in Walmart is a sudser, but the Mexican Ariel causes no suds issues in my Duet.

Also... the original "Ariel Doble Poder" ingredient list. Notice... nothing about "fosfato" or "phosphate" anywhere.

@mamapinky0, at this point... I think that's just an accidental PR release, or badly announced information. Someone also tried to say they would stop manufacturing the powder completely, which even P&G didn't know about. There's so much vague information out there, it's hard to sort through the facts.

You know "ACE" is also made by P&G in Mexico, and has a quite similar formula but isn't picked over as much at stores, so that's a product also worth looking at. It should be easy to find, by the labeling (looks like Tide).

As for the testing, there are Phosphorous test kits designed for aquariums at your local Pet Smart or Petco. Those can be used to test for above-average levels of Phosphorous in water. Now... you will see a small amount with any detergent you use, due to the fact that it appears naturally with certain ingredients, esp carbonates. However... a product truly containing Phosphates should make the strip really colorful. ;)

My local or should I say 30 minute drive away Petsmart does free aquarium water testing..next trip that way I'll take a canning jar of Mex Ariel in water..LOL.

I found a huge box of Ace with the bullseye at Ollies a few years ago what a dynamic detergent.

Forgot I also found a box of Ariel Color and Style it smelled exactly like Cheer powder.

@mamapinky0, the Ace in a box, is repackaged Tide. The real ace.. comes in a bag like Ariel ;)

The repackaged Tide.

L M Thank you for the explanation, it was very detailed and useful. The photos are extremely helpful. I will be very careful about making sure that the label is only in Spanish. I often go to a Compare supermarket that specialized in South and Central American products, not Mexican. I'll probably be there on Sunday. I'll look and see what is available. I also have access to asian markets and wonder if the detergents made for that market contain phosphates. I see a lot of Tide for Vietnam.

Are you suggesting the Ace in a bag also had phosphates or that it is just a good detergent?

WAIT, are you talking about COMPARE FOODS? THEY HAVE THEM IN NY? It's in a uber super sketchy area, but we have a few of them nearby. They have a ton of Central America & "American" Products, and it's most frequented by the Hispanics. (Forgive me... I don't know how else to say that.) I stick out like a sore thumb so badly in there.

If it wasn't for the sketchiness of the area's they are in, I'd visit a little more often. THEY HAVE A TON of cool finds. Including a lot of NOS stuff like Original Scent Tide Powder, and occasionally... I'll run into very vintage stuff, like Ivory Powder & Original Tide Total Care. I have a ton of pictures somewhere :P

The Ace in the bag (and I only mean the Bag) should presumably have Phosphates as well. I haven't looked at it in a while, but... it did when I last checked. It's very, very similar to the Ariel Formulation, and they are both made by P&G.

I got some more fish killer as well before it'll be removed from the shelves (or at least no longer restocked) by January 1st. The label says "best before 09/2018" so I should be covered for a good while.

This is an algae bloom in S Africa as you can see the crock swimming thru it. Its not caused from phosphates and is a natural part of their Eco system.

What a great thread. Thank you Jody for starting it. I don't get around as easily as I used to but we do have a Mexican SuperMex supermarket in town. I'll ask my wife to check it out for us. As I understand it, if a product comes in a plastic bag and does not say phosphate free in Spanish or English, it will contain phosphates and they all have Downy. Is that right?

Nerdyshopper, you are welcome. I am quite passionate about my mexican detergent with phosphates. I actually got hooked on it from reading about it on this board. Bad influences around here!! LOL

As for if it doesn't say phosphate free it has phosphates, I really don't know. I have just been buying the ones with the import sticker because it was my understanding that those were the bags that definitely had the phosphates.

Today I took a good look into my three bags of Ariel and the two bought recently at the local hispanic grocery looks just like L M said blue and the one bought at Walmart looks white. I mixed up a little bit of each and found the blue one is slipperier that the white one. I am guessing it has phosphates. I am certainly no expert, but it smells different, looks different and feels different.

My Mexican Ariel with Downy smells very much like the candy Sweetarts.

Heather I think you got the old bag of Ariel USA which was white. The new Ariel USA is a blue but not as deep a blue as the Ariel Mexico and has green flecks.. Do you still have the Ariel USA and could you post a pic of the package?

Jody Mexican Ariel does have a nickname for its scent..sweet tart. Lol. It does leave the most heavenly fresh clean scent.