Johnson & Johnson Ordered To Stop Using Raw Material To Make Baby Powder In India: Report

Drugs regulator has ordered Johnson & Johnson to stop manufacturing its baby powder using raw materials in two of its Indian factories until test results prove they are free of asbestos, a senior official said on Thursday. The official at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), who declined to be named citing the sensitivity of the matter, said a written order had been sent to the U.S. company telling it to stop using the "huge quantities" of raw materials stocked in its plants in northern and western India.

The company said on Wednesday that drug authorities visited some of its facilities and took "tests and samples" of its talcum powder. It also said that the safety of its cosmetic talc was 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. (Johnson and Johnson baby powder: Company says it gave samples to regulators over carcinogen concerns)

The visits came as the CDSCO and state-based food and drug administrations launched an investigation into J&J's Baby Powder following a Reuters report last Friday that the firm knew for decades that cancer-causing asbestos could be found in the product. J&J has described the Reuters article as "one-sided, false and inflammatory".

The company didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

Asked if the order meant the company would have to stop producing its ubiquitous baby powder in the country for now, the official at the drugs regulator said that was "the inference you have to take" at least as far as the stores of raw materials were concerned.

"We have told them until this investigation concludes, you should not use the raw material. Test results will take time," the official said. "Testing for asbestos is not a routine procedure. It might be in traces. It will require us to develop a method and all those things."

Familiar brand

J&J's Baby Powder is one of the most recognised foreign brands in India along with Colgate toothpaste and Surf detergent.

The company started selling its Baby Powder in the country in 1948, just a year after the country won independence from the British. Presenting gift boxes containing the product and others aimed at newborns is almost a family ritual in this country of 1.3 billion people, 28 per cent of whom are aged between 0-14.

The company also commands a strong retail distribution network through small pharmacies, larger stores and the internet.

There is yet to be any significant signs of a backlash against J&J products in the country because of the scare. At eight pharmacies across the country visited by Reuters reporters on Thursday, seven said J&J remained the No. 1 seller of powder for babies.

That doesn't mean it isn't under pressure from local and international competitors who sell talc-type powders, such as Bengaluru-based Himalaya Herbals, and Italy's Artsana, which produces Chicco baby brands.

And some individual consumers say they are now very wary of J&J's Baby Powder.

"It is really very, very shocking," said Sitaram Beria, a chartered accountant in Bhubaneswar city. He said he stopped applying J&J powder on his six-month old baby after hearing about the Reuters report over the weekend.

J&J leads sales in the Indian baby and child toiletries market, which market research provider Euromonitor estimates would be worth Rs 1,250 crore ($178 million) this year, and forecasts will grow 84 per cent to Rs 2,300 crore in 2022.

Euromonitor did not give a breakdown for baby powder alone but said J&J was the biggest player in the overall segment, followed by Mumbai-based VVF Ltd, Artsana, Wipro of Bengaluru and Himalaya.

Himalaya said in a statement that its herbs-based baby care products "are exclusively promoted and recommended by over 40,000 doctors in the country, which is the greatest endorsement for us," while declining to provide any financial figures.

The other companies could not be reached for comment.