On October 18, Johnson & Johnson announced that it was voluntarily recalling 33,000 bottles of baby powder after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration discovered trace levels of chrysotile asbestos from the same lot. The recall represents the first time J&J has pulled baby powder from store shelves and completely undercuts its legal defense insisting that their baby powder has always been safe.

Although J&J is trying to downplay the results by investigating whether cross-contamination of the samples played a role or even if the products tested were counterfeit, FDA. spokesperson responded that “The FDA stands by the quality of its testing and results.” Click here for the FDA news release.

The timing of the recall could not be worse for J&J. The multitude of cancer lawsuits and bombshell investigative reporting released over the past year has already sent consumer trust plummeting.

According to Bloomberg analysts, “Baby Powder-related liabilities could eventually cost the company as much as $10 billion.” After the recall announcement, J&J shares fell more than 6%, the biggest drop since 2018. Nora Engsrom, Stanford law professor quoted in the Bloomberg article, states “The wisdom of J&J’s broad defense strategy for these talc cases clearly is now in doubt.”

As J&J continues it damage control campaign, they are unable to stop the evidence contradicting their longstanding defense and the fact that the public has come to associate its iconic product with cancer.

Click here to read more about the legal implications of the J&J baby powder recall.