Business / Johnson & Johnson Rejects Report Of

Johnson & Johnson has strongly rejected findings of a Rajasthan government laboratory showing presence of "harmful" chemicals in the US-based company's baby shampoo, a popular product in India. The NCPCR said the test report found presence of formaldehyde in J&J's baby shampoo. J&J said it is in full compliance with current Indian regulatory requirements and standards for manufacturing and testing of all its products.

The NCPCR said the test report found presence of formaldehyde in J&J's baby shampoo.

The company, in a statement, said it has not received any direction to stop the sale of its shampoo and that it was not accepting the interim results of the laboratory tests which were based on "unknown and unspecified" methods. India is a major market for J&J globally, and its share in the country's Rs. 4,000-crore baby care market is nearly three-fourths.

"We will await the results and conclusions of the re-testing process at the Central Drugs Laboratory. We are not aware of any directions from NCPCR. It must be noted that any such directions, under the law, can only be issued under certain prescribed conditions," the company said.

J&J said it is in full compliance with current Indian regulatory requirements and standards for manufacturing and testing of all its products. 

"We have confirmed to the Indian authorities that we do not add Formaldehyde as an ingredient in our shampoo nor does Johnson's baby shampoo contain any ingredient that can release formaldehyde over time. Our products are safe to use and conform to all applicable standard under the D&C (Drugs and Cosmetics) Act and D&C rules," it said.

"We unequivocally maintain that our products are safe, and our assurance process is amongst the most rigorous in the world, meeting or exceeding the safety standards in every country where our products are sold," the company added.