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Johnson & Johnson Recalls Asbestos-Tainted Baby Powder Johnson & Johnson Recalls Asbestos-Tainted Baby Powder
(about 2 hours later)
Johnson & Johnson is recalling a shipment of baby powder after the Food and Drug Administration discovered evidence of asbestos in one of the bottles, the company said on Friday, a move that undercuts its defense in a growing number of claims that its talc-based products were contaminated with the potent carcinogen. Johnson & Johnson recalled a shipment of baby powder on Friday, after the Food and Drug Administration discovered evidence of asbestos in one of the bottles. The move could seriously undercut the company’s defense against a swarm of claims that its talc-based products caused cancer.
The regulator found trace levels of chrysotile asbestos in samples taken from a bottle of baby powder purchased from an online retailer, Johnson & Johnson said. The company has, for years, denied that the carcinogen is, or ever was, present in its talc-based products. The recall of 33,000 bottles sourced from China and distributed last year, is the first time the company has taken action to shield baby powder customers from potential exposure to asbestos, after it spent years denying that the bathroom staple has ever been contaminated with the carcinogen.
This is the first time Johnson & Johnson has ever pulled baby powder from the market over asbestos concerns, a spokesman for the company said, and comes as Johnson & Johnson is battling thousands of lawsuits brought by people who say that baby powder and other talc-based products caused them to develop cancer. Some have mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer that is considered the signature disease of asbestos exposure, while others have ovarian cancer, which has also been linked to asbestos. It comes as Johnson & Johnson, which has almost $82 billion in annual sales and reaches millions of customers through brands such as Tylenol and Listerine, is entangled in numerous lawsuits and policy battles over accusations of harm caused by its products.
The recall will undermine defense claims against those suits, and could lead to the company having to pay more or to settle cases, said Erik Gordon, a University of Michigan business professor who studies corporate governance. Shares of the company fell 5 percent in early afternoon trading on Friday. The company has settled some claims — and is still fighting others — involving its role in the nationwide opioid crisis. On Thursday, the company agreed to pay $117 million to settle claims that it deceptively marketed transvaginal pelvic mesh implants, and earlier this month Johnson & Johnson was ordered by a jury to pay $8 billion to a Maryland man who accused the company of downplaying the risks associated with the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal.
But in announcing the recall, the company also repeated part of its long-running defense against cancer claims, saying that “thousands of tests over the past 40 years repeatedly confirm that our consumer talc products do not contain asbestos.” The company said it was recalling the shipment out of an “abundance of caution.” The decision to pull baby powder off shelves is a “whopper” for a company as dependent on consumer trust as Johnson & Johnson, said David Noll, a law professor at Rutgers University
“I can’t imagine an attorney for Johnson & Johnson standing up in front of a jury now and saying with a straight face that the product is safe,” he said, adding that “if people come to associate the company’s signature product with deadly diseases, there will be huge spillover effects for its ability to market other products.”
The recall was prompted by the F.D.A.’s discovery of trace levels of chrysotile asbestos in samples taken from a bottle of baby powder purchased from an online retailer. The company said it was recalling bottles from lot number #22318RB out of an “abundance of caution,” though the F.D.A. advised consumers with baby powder from the recalled lot to “stop using it immediately.”
Though Johnson & Johnson said it has started “a rigorous, thorough investigation into the matter” it also appeared to question the testing process, saying in a statement that it is working with the F.D.A. to “determine the integrity of the tested sample and the validity of the test results.”Though Johnson & Johnson said it has started “a rigorous, thorough investigation into the matter” it also appeared to question the testing process, saying in a statement that it is working with the F.D.A. to “determine the integrity of the tested sample and the validity of the test results.”
The recalled baby powder was produced and shipped last year. The recalled lot, #22318RB, involves 33,000 bottles sold by a retailer, which sold products online but may have shipped powder to stores, the spokesman, Ernie Knewitz, said. The F.D.A. has not responded to questions about the identity of the retailer. In response, agency spokeswoman Gloria Sanchez said, “The F.D.A. stands by the quality of its testing and results.”
Johnson & Johnson now faces more than 15,000 lawsuits brought by people who say that baby powder and other talc-based products caused them to develop cancer. Some have mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer that is considered the signature disease of asbestos exposure, while others have ovarian cancer.
Analysts estimate the baby powder suits alone could cost Johnson & Johnson as much as $5 billion to $10 billion. The recall could lead to the company having to pay more in damages or to settle cases, said Erik Gordon, a University of Michigan business professor who studies corporate governance. Shares of the company fell more than 6 percent on Friday.
The recalled lot involves bottles sold by a retailer, which sold products online but may have shipped powder to stores, the spokesman, Ernie Knewitz, said. The F.D.A. has not responded to requests from The New York Times to identify the retailer.
A New York Times investigation last year found that Johnson & Johnson executives were aware for decades of the risks of asbestos contamination in talc but did not warn consumers. Internal memos and reports made public during litigation against the company document executives’ concerns about potential contamination that date back 50 years.A New York Times investigation last year found that Johnson & Johnson executives were aware for decades of the risks of asbestos contamination in talc but did not warn consumers. Internal memos and reports made public during litigation against the company document executives’ concerns about potential contamination that date back 50 years.
Earlier this year, Johnson & Johnson disclosed that it is being investigated by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission over concerns about possible asbestos contamination of its talc-based products.Earlier this year, Johnson & Johnson disclosed that it is being investigated by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission over concerns about possible asbestos contamination of its talc-based products.
The company is now entangled in litigation on multiple fronts. On Thursday, it agreed to pay $117 million to settle claims that it deceptively marketed transvaginal pelvic mesh implants. Earlier this month, a jury in Philadelphia ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $8 billion to a Maryland man who accused the company of downplaying the risks associated with the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal. The company has also agreed to settle claims involving its role in the nationwide opioid crisis.
Lee Hambright, an analyst with Bernstein, wrote in a note to clients last week that Johnson & Johnson could face $5 billion in legal liability over the talc litigation. Of the 15,500 talc lawsuits the company has disclosed, Mr. Hambright estimated that 1,000 involved mesothelioma cases.
[Read our investigation into claims about asbestos in baby powder.][Read our investigation into claims about asbestos in baby powder.]
Talc is a natural mineral that is mined from underground deposits, but asbestos can form under the same geological conditions that form talc, and geologists say veins of asbestos can intermingle with talc in underground mines.Talc is a natural mineral that is mined from underground deposits, but asbestos can form under the same geological conditions that form talc, and geologists say veins of asbestos can intermingle with talc in underground mines.
Johnson & Johnson officials emphasized that the level of asbestos detected was very low, the amount being “two ten-thousands of a percent” of the sample. U.S. health agencies, however, say there is no known safe level of exposure when it comes to asbestos. Johnson & Johnson officials emphasized that the level of asbestos detected by the F.D.A. test of the sample was very low, the amount being “two ten-thousands of a percent” of the sample. U.S. health agencies, however, say there is no known safe level of exposure when it comes to asbestos.
While health risks increase with heavier and longer exposure times to asbestos, the overall evidence suggests no level of asbestos exposure is safe, and disease has been found in people with only brief exposures, according to the National Cancer Institute. While health risks increase with heavier and longer exposure times to asbestos, disease has been found in people with only brief exposures, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Several earlier F.D.A. tests, including one in the past year and another about a decade ago, did not detect any asbestos samples of baby powder.
The agency uses an independent firm called AMA Analytical Services, based in Lanham, Md., to carry out its testing. The company, on its website, says that it carries “several nationally and internationally recognized accreditations” and is “licensed by many states and municipalities.
The Food and Drug Administration does not require premarket safety testing for personal care products and cosmetics, and only tests products occasionally, usually after complaints are made by consumers or advocacy groups.
Recent public concerns have focused on talcum powder, an ingredient in many cosmetics, including lipstick, mascara, face powder, blush, eye shadow and makeup kits marketed to children. The agency briefly considered —and quickly abandoned — a plan to monitor talcum products for asbestos back in the 1970s, when concern about asbestos in household products had captured the public’s attention.
Now the agency initiates testing only occasionally, if complaints are made. Earlier this year, after consumer tests found asbestos in makeup kits for children sold at Claire’s, the FDA followed up with its own tests, which detected the carcinogen in half of 20 suspect products, including Claire’s eye shadow and compact powder, Jo Jo Siwa brand makeup sold at Claire’s, and bronzers, blush and other makeup made by Beauty Plus Global City Color Cosmetics and sold in retail outlets. The products were eventually recalled.
The agency plans to test another 30 products containing talcum powder, including those popular on social media and others marketed to children, Ms. Sanchez said. But even if it tests a total of 50 cosmetics products by the end of the year, as promised, that is a tiny percentage of the thousands of personal care products on the market.
[Thousands of people who trusted Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder for decades are suing the company after developing cancer. “The Weekly,” our new TV show, investigates their allegations.][Thousands of people who trusted Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder for decades are suing the company after developing cancer. “The Weekly,” our new TV show, investigates their allegations.]
This is a developing story that will be updated.