Drug Regulators Collect J&J Shampoo & Soap Samples to Investigate

India’s drug regulator decides to also collect samples of its shampoo and soap, calling it ‘routine procedure’.

Regulators expand the investigation to assess other J&J products along with its baby powder. 

(Photo courtesy: iStockphoto)

Adding more heat to the Johnson & Johnson baby powder controversy, India’s drug regulator has decided to also collect samples of its shampoo and soap, saying it is part of its ‘routine procedure’.

Earlier reports said that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and local Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials visited a few of Johnson and Johnson facilities and collected tests and samples.

“Today, a few of our facilities were visited by the CDSCO and local FDA authorities and we are fully cooperating with them by providing tests and samples,” the organisation said in a statement.

According to a Times of India report, the regulators also ordered J&J’s Mumbai factory and its plant in Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) to immediately stop using the available raw material to produce talc.

These orders come in the backdrop of a recent investigation by Reuters claimed that the talcum powder was contaminated by carcinogenic asbestos, making it poisonous and life-threatening for women using it on themselves. The main allegation of the report was that Johnson & Johnson knew this all along but decided to hide it.

A spokesperson for J&J said that FDA and CDSCO had earlier confirmed that their products comply with the Indian standards and are free of asbestos.

“It is important to understand that the safety of cosmetic talc is based on a long history of safe use and decades of research and clinical evidence by independent researchers and scientific review boards across the world,” the spokesperson said.

Hundreds of lawsuits from women have claimed that regularly applying products like Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower to their genitals has caused ovarian cancer.