Action will be taken after Johnson & Johnson baby powder's sample test: Drug Controller

Days after India's central drug regulator CDSCO seized samples of Johnson & Johnson baby powder from the firm's plant in Himachal Pradesh's Baddi, state drug controller Navneet Marwaha said that appropriate action will be taken in the matter after the reports of the sample test are out.

The samples were seized after a report by a London-based news agency, Reuters, claimed that Johnson & Johnson's raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of (cancer-causing) asbestos for the last few decades.

Speaking to ANI, Marwaha said, "Johnson & Johnson was making baby products in association with VVF India Ltd in Baddi. On the basis of news reports, an inspection took place and samples were collected which will be sent for investigation. On the basis of the report, appropriate action will be taken."

The company, which has a huge market in India, dismissed the reports, calling it "one-sided, false and inflammatory".

"The Reuters article is one-sided, false and inflammatory. Johnson & Johnson's baby powder is safe and asbestos-free. Studies of more than 100,000 men and women show that talc does not cause cancer or asbestos-related disease. Thousands of independent tests by regulators and the world's leading labs prove our baby powder has never contained asbestos," the company's statement read.

The statement further stated that Johnson & Johnson will continue to defend the safety of its product.