Johnson and Johnson has announced that it has withdrawn 33,000 bottles of baby powder in the United States after its health regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found traces of asbestos in samples taken from a bottle purchased online.
Asbestos is a known carcinogen and is linked to mesothelioma (a tumour that affects the lungs, stomach, heart and other organs).
This is the first time that the company has recalled its baby powder product for asbestos contamination. The US regulator too has announced this contamination for the first time.
The company has maintained that its products are safe even as it is facing a lawsuit in the US and its expected to pay US $8 Billion. It is currently facing 15,000 lawsuits from various consumers who have linked the baby powder product to cancer.
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a statement whereby they said that they stand by their testing standards.
It has now been reported that the company’s shares have fallen following this development.