Manufacturers of cosmetic products made from baby powder and talcum powder would be required to test for asbestos under a proposal announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The agency's proposal comes at the direction of Congress, which passed a law last year requiring the FDA to take action. Asbestos, a known human carcinogen, is found in the same rock types as talc deposits and can get into the mining process, creating potentially contaminated products and raising concerns about risks to the public.
FDA proposed Rule Manufacturers will be required to test samples of cosmetic products containing talc for asbestos with methods including polarized light and transmission electron microscopy, which illuminates samples with an electron beam. Alternatively, companies can also rely on certificates of analysis from their talcum suppliers, the agency said.
Linda Katz, a medical doctor and director of the FDA's Office of Cosmetics and Colors, said in a news release Thursday, “We believe the proposed testing techniques to detect asbestos are appropriate methods to ensure the safety of talc-containing cosmetic products. ” release Announcement of agency action.
The agency's proposed rule falls short of a ban on talcum that many are advocating, including the US Public Interest Research Group, or PIRG. called for,
A long-running lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson alleges that the company's talc baby powder caused ovarian cancer in women. company in june agreed to pay $700 million to settle charges that it misled the public about the safety of talcum-based powder products in its marketing.
The J&J subsidiary has offered to pay about $8 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits. As part of the deal, the subsidiary would declare bankruptcy, although that proposal has been challenged in court by the Justice Department.
J&J removed Talc-based powder from the market in North America in 2020 And then internationally in 2023.
The company says that it stands by the safety of its products.
In 2019, the F.D.A. asbestos found Of the cosmetics sold by Claire's stores, the recall was prompted by the retailer and Beauty Plus Global. Most recently, New Jersey's Dynarex in late October extended a memory Dynacare Baby Powder was shipped to 35 states and sold on Amazon due to possible asbestos contamination.
Contributed to this report.