Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has resumed the production of baby powder at plants in Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) and Mulund (Maharashtra) following a government-sanctioned testing reaffirming that the product does not contain asbestos.

A press note released by J&J said: “This conclusion reinforces the findings of decades of independent tests by universities, research labs and government regulators around the world that have consistently found that our talc is safe.”

In recent months, regulatory authorities from Singapore, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait and Egypt have also reaffirmed the purity of J&J’s talc, the press note further stated.

In a filing in the US, however, J&J said on February 22 that the number of pending product liability lawsuits continues to increase, and the company continues to receive information with respect to potential costs and the anticipated number of cases that the talcum powder use may have allegedly caused. More than 10,000 cases have claimed that J&J’s talcum powder products have caused ovarian cancer.

Clinical evidence

However, J&J said in the note: “We stand behind the safety of our talc, which is routinely tested by both suppliers and independent labs to ensure it is free of asbestos.

“Johnson & Johnson has cooperated fully and openly with global regulators, providing them with all the information they have requested dating back to the 1960s, and has made its cosmetic talc sources and processed talc available to regulators for testing.

“Research, clinical evidence and nearly 40 years of studies by independent medical experts around the world continue to support the safety of cosmetic talc.”

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