J&J resumes baby powder production after testing finds no asbestos

Johnson & Johnson said Thursday it has resumed production of baby powder at its plants after a government-sanctioned testing reaffirmed that the product does not contain asbestos.

The company highlighted that regulatory authorities from Singapore, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait and Egypt in recent months have also reaffirmed the purity of Johnson & Johnsons talc.

The company has resumed production of its baby powder at plants in Baddi and Mulund, after government-sanctioned testing reaffirmed that the product does not contain asbestos, a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson said in a statement.

"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," it added.

In December 2018, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had ordered Johnson and Johnson not to use talc raw material from its Mulund plant in Mumbai and Baddi unit in Himachal Pradesh for any production till further directions.

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, the statement said.

"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," it added.

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