By Tiffany Hsu and Roni Caryn Rabin for The New York Times
Johnson & Johnson is recalling a shipment of baby powder after the Food and Drug Administration discovered evidence of asbestos, the company said on Friday, after months spent denying the presence of the carcinogen in its talc-based products.
In a test, the regulator found trace levels of chrysotile asbestos in samples from a bottle of baby powder purchased from an online retailer, Johnson & Johnson said.
The recall “will undermine Johnson & Johnson’s defense claims,” leading the company to “lose more suits or pay more to settle,” said Erik Gordon, a University of Michigan business professor.