Despite assurances that J&J uses asbestos free talc powder, the FDA recently announced a voluntary recall of contaminated baby powder.

According to Reuters, recently, Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky appeared in court stating that the company “unequivocally believe[s] that our talc and our baby powder does not contain asbestos.” The deposition came on Oct. 3 in a baby powder cancer case from a retired Indiana college professor.

The professor allegedly developed cancer after using Johnson & Johnson baby powder for decades. Although the former professor claims that the healthcare company is liable for his illness, Gorsky cited “thousands of tests and studies” showing that their talc baby powder did not contain asbestos.

This deposition was undermined less than two weeks after Gorsky defended his company. On Oct. 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released the news that Johnson & Johnson would be voluntary recalling one lot of their baby powder due to contamination concerns.

Johnson’s Baby Powder with lot code #22318RB was reportedly shown to contain chrysotile asbestos fibers during FDA testing. The FDA routinely tests cosmetic products for the presence of asbestos and has done so since 2018.

One sample lot of Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder reportedly contained asbestos while the second sample with lot code #00918RA tested negative for the known carcinogen.

The Johnson & Johnson baby powder recall reportedly affects 33,000 bottles of the talc-based product. This is the first time that Johnson & Johnson has recalled their baby powder for asbestos contamination, lending credence to the countless lawsuits filed against the company.

The thousands of complaints argue that Johnson & Johnson baby powder products contain talc contaminated with asbestos, leading to the development of cancers such as mesothelioma.

“I understand today’s recall may be concerning to all those individuals who may have used the affected lot of baby powder. I want to assure everyone that the agency takes these concerns seriously and that we are committed to our mandate of protecting the public health,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless.

“The FDA continues to test cosmetic products that contain talc for the presence of asbestos to protect Americans from potential health risks.”

Finding Asbestos Free Talc Powder

Asbestos may contaminate talc products during the mining process since the two minerals are often found close to each other in the earth. The FDA notes that talc may be contaminated with asbestos if talc mining sites are not carefully selected and if the mined talc is not sufficiently purified before being used in products.

According to the American Cancer Society, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) claims that talc containing asbestos is classified as “carcinogenic to humans.”

Unfortunately, consumers must rely on talc product manufacturers and talc powder suppliers to make sure that any talc found in products is free of asbestos. Legal action against Johnson & Johnson claims that the massive conglomerate failed to make sure that their products were made with asbestos free talc powder.

This reportedly resulted in people developing cancers such as mesothelioma, according to lawsuit allegations.