Johnson & Johnson to recall US baby powder
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) said it would recall a single lot of its baby powder in the US after the regulator, the Food and Drug Administration, found trace amounts of asbestos in samples taken from a bottle bought online.
The recall is limited to one lot of Johnson’s Baby Powder produced and shipped in the US in 2018, said the company. The company’s shares fell almost 4.5% in New York at one stage.
J&J also said it has started an investigation and is working with health regulators to determine the integrity of the tested sample, as well as the validity of test results. The FDA test indicated the presence of no greater than 0.00002% of chrysotile asbestos in the tested sample, it said.
The company’s consumer unit said it was too early to confirm whether cross- contamination of the sample had caused a false positive, whether it was taken from a bottle with an intact seal, or whether the sample was prepared in a controlled environment.
It added that it could not confirm whether the product was authentic or counterfeit. J&J already faces multiple lawsuits related to products containing talc. The firm has repeatedly said its talc products are safe, and that decades of studies have shown them to be asbestos-free and that they do not cause cancer.
