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Recently, several retailers, including Walgreens, CVS, and Target, have removed all 22-ounce bottles of Johnson & Johnson baby powder from their shelves due to a recall on Johnson and Johnson’s baby powder produced in Lot # 22318RB.
After the test results were released which found levels of asbestos in the product that were no more than 0.00002%, Johnson & Johnson voluntarily recalled the baby powder. The company has urged anyone who has a bottle of baby powder from that lot number to discontinue using it immediately and contact the company to obtain a refund.
“Issuing a recall can allow consumers to avoid suffering severe injury or illness from defective consumer goods if they stop using the product prior to the injury taking place,” Attorney Larry Buckfire of Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. said. “However, simply because a recall is issued by a company does not mean that the company is no longer liable for any damage or injury their product causes. All companies are responsible to their consumers for making products that are safe for their consumers. That said, it is important for consumers to heed the manufacturer’s warnings and comply with any product recalls to avoid potential future harm the product may cause.”
Johnson & Johnson is working closely with the FDA to investigate a test sample of baby powder that was found to have traces of asbestos in the product. They believe that the test sample may have been cross-contaminated by a test sample of something else using talc, which can also be found in other cosmetic products, such as blush.
Johnson & Johnson insists that the talc found in its baby powder comes from sources that meet cleanliness specifications and that tests over the past 40 years have not found any asbestos in their product. However, lawsuits have been filed against Johnson & Johnson, alleging that asbestos in its talcum powder causes cancer, and a California jury delivered a verdict against the company for $25.75 million in 2018, stating that the company did not warn consumers about the potential health risks its baby powder posed.
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