More than a thousand bottles of baby powder sold on Amazon are being recalled over fears they may be laced with asbestos.
Routine testing detected the cancer-causing substance in Dynacare’s Baby Powder 4875, which is often used on babys to prevent and treat diaper rash.
A total of 1,500 bottles priced at $47 each and sold from March this year have been recalled across 12 states — including Pennsylvania, Florida and Illinois.
No illnesses or adverse events have been reported to date, with customers urged to stop using the powder immediately and return it to sellers for a full refund.
Dynacare’s baby powder, sold on Amazon, is being recalled over fears it may be contaminated with asbestos
The FDA, which detected the contamination, revealed the recall in a notice posted to its website on Thursday.
It said 62 cases of the bottles — with 24 14oz bottles to a case — had been recalled after they were distributed by retailers.
The bottles have a sell-by date of December 2026 and a batch number B051, which are printed on the bottom of the bottles.
Dynacare baby powder contains talc which is extracted via mining and crushed into a water-absorbent powder.
Deposits of talc are often found near deposits of asbestos, however, which is a naturally occurring mineral.
The FDA said in its recall notice that if talc mining sites are not selected carefully or if efforts are not made to purify talc once it is extracted, then the talc may be contaminated with asbestos.
After using the powder at home, tiny asebestos particles can become suspended in the air and then be breathed in by either the adult using the powder or the infant.
These can then become wedged in the tissue of the lungs, where they trigger inflammation and irritation to the tissue — causing damaging mutations in nearby cells.
Over time, this can trigger cancers such as lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer affecting the lining of the lungs that is linked to asbestos exposure.
Bottles of the powder being recalled have the lot number of B051 marked on the bottom of them, and also an expiration date of December 2026 (Shown above)
Bottles that are being recalled have the lot number B051 marked on the outside of their sales box
The recall is eerily reminiscent of Johnson and Johnson’s own legal troubles amid allegations that its baby powder contained asbestos and had caused cancers.
The company is offering an $8billion settlement to more than 50,000 people suing over the reported contamination.
It has already lost a number of court cases, including $4.5million to the family of mother-of-six Theresa Garcia who died at the age of 53 years from an asbestos-linked cancer after using the powder for decades.
Johnson and Johnson has now discontinued its talc-based baby powder, and replaced it with a powder that uses cornstarch.
Revealing the recall, the FDA said: ‘Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that is often found near talc, an ingredient in many cosmetic products.
‘Asbestos, however, is a known carcinogen and its health risks are well-documented.
‘During talc mining, if talc mining sites are not selected carefully or steps taken to purify the talc ore sufficiently, the talc may be contaminated with asbestos.’
The recalled bottles were distributed to sellers on March 11 in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Florida, Washington and Wisconsin.
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