Ever since the Johnson & Johnson Company began facing some 15,000 lawsuits alleging their Baby Powder caused cancer, people have been concerned about asbestos contamination in talc products. The lawsuits claim that daily use of talc products led to the plaintiffs developing certain cancers like ovarian cancer and mesothelioma. Most recently, a lot of Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder tested positive for asbestos in a test done by the Food and Drug Administration. The Johnson & Johnson company said that follow up tests conducted by private agencies showed no contamination.
Asbestos.com reports that experts are recommending to the FDA to have standardized testing for asbestos in talc products.
A team of experts made up of people from eight different agencies presented the FDA with preliminary recommendations to have standardized testing for the presence of asbestos in talc products.
The recommendations are designed in hopes of ending the discrepancies in the different analyses of whether talc products are contaminated with asbestos. The preliminary recommendations will be discussed in a public meeting on February 4th.
The panel agreed with the World Health Organization that there is no safe exposure level when it comes to asbestos.
Earlier this month, Johnson & Johnson settled one mesothelioma lawsuit after the jury heard testimony of the FDA’s latest findings.
Currently, the FDA does not require manufacturers who make talc products to use a standardized test for the presence of asbestos.
The agency will use the latest recommendation in deciding to move forward with standardized talc testing, but no decision is expected to be made soon.
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