The Personal Care Products Council Still Thinks Talcum Powder is Safe, Pure, and Asbestos-Free

The cosmetic product trade group continues to tell consumers that products made from talc are safe for human use

Thursday, April 15, 2021 - Cosmetics.org, owned and operated by the Personal Care Products Council, is the leading trade organization representing the cosmetics industry. The trade group denies that cosmetics-grade talc is dangerous to consumer health. The organization tells readers that talc does not contain asbestos fibers and that there is no link between using talc for feminine hygiene and developing ovarian cancer. Their position is as follows: " A meta-analysis published in 2007 by Muscat and Huncharek shows no association between perineal (genital area) use of talc and ovarian cancer. However, several case-control epidemiology studies in the 1990s reported small increases in ovarian cancer among women who use talc in the perineal area." Their talc cancer opinion is contrary to expert witnesses that have testified on behalf of plaintiffs alleging to have found asbestos in nearly every sample of Johnsons Baby Powder they tested. By quoting out-of-date studies, the organization ignores the latest findings of the FDA that clearly state that the agency has tested talc and found asbestos, warning people to stay away from cosmetics products including baby powder. The organization should review the latest FDA warning: "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting consumers about Johnsons Baby Powder Lot #22318RB. A sample from this lot was found to contain chrysotile fibers, a type of asbestos. On October 18, 2019, Johnson & Johnson voluntarily recalled this product, and consumers who have this lot of baby powder should stop using it."

Read more at https://www.fda.gov/food/cfsan-constituent-updates/baby-powder-manufacturer-voluntarily-recalls-product-asbestos Talcum powder asbestos cancer lawyers continue to interview women with ovarian cancer to see if they have been injured by using Johnson's Baby Powder.

More than 25,000 women with ovarian cancer have filed lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson that blame using perineal talc caused their disease. Johnson & Johnson is not the only talcum powder manufacturer to come under pressure by plaintiffs with cancer. Individuals have accused companies like Colgate Palmolive, Revlon, Clubman, and others of failing to police themselves and ensure that their talc supply was pure and asbestos-free. Most of the companies that make cosmetic products sold in the United States have relied on the purity guarantees of their talc mining suppliers. Most companies never bothered to test talcum powder or talc-based cosmetics for the presence of asbestos. Cosmetics companies relied on the classification of talc as being "cosmetics grade" by the mining company as good enough for them. Executives at companies like American International Industries, the maker of Clubman Barbershop Talc, never thought to test for talc and assumed that testing talc for purity was the job of the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has shunned responsibility for talc purity for decades telling Reuters investigators that: "Since at least the 1970s, the regulatory agency (FDA) downplayed health concerns about talc in powders and cosmetics, deferring again and again to manufacturers," and also that the agency lacked the resources to test talc.