NCPCR asks J&J to stop supply of controversial shampoo

New Delhi [India], May 28 (ANI): National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Tuesday asked the American multinational Johnson & Johnson to withdraw the supply of a batch of baby shampoo that allegedly contained formaldehyde, which is harmful to children.
"The supply of the said batch, which was found to be not of standard quality, should be withdrawn from the market immediately," said the NCPCR in a letter to the Managing Director, Johnson & Johnson India.
Earlier on April 29, Rajasthan Drug Control department had said that it found "harmful ingredient in one of the two batches of the baby shampoo that it had tested."
R Sharma, Drug Controller Rajasthan had said, "We did testing in February on drugs and cosmetics, including 2 batches of Johnson & Johnson's baby shampoo. Report states, a sample of cosmetic contains a harmful ingredient."
On May 28, in view of the findings of the Rajasthan Drug Controller, the NCPCR had asked chief secretaries of five states including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Assam, and Jharkhand to stop the sale of the baby shampoo in their respective states.
"Rajasthan drug control authority had tested Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo and found formaldehyde in it which is harmful to the children. So, chief secretaries of five different regions were asked to stop the sale of this product," Prinyank Kanoongo, chief of the NCPCR had said to ANI.
However, the company refutes the reports, reaffirming that it is in "full compliance" with the current Indian regulatory requirements and standards for manufacturing and testing all products.
"We do not accept the interim results given to us which mentioned samples to 'contain harmful ingredients- identification positive for formaldehyde.' The government did not disclose the test methods, details or any quantitative findings," a spokesperson of the company had said in a statement.
"This is concerning especially when there is no prescribed test method or requirement for testing Formaldehyde in shampoo under the applicable standards," the statement added.
The NCPCR has further ordered the company to issue an advisory in media to make sure that the consumers do not use shampoo from the alleged batch.
"As the alleged batch is still in circulation and may have been procured by the consumers. An advisory should be issued in dailies across print and electronic forms to ensure that the consumers don't use the shampoo from the alleged batch." (ANI)