Against the backdrop of a growing number of lawsuits claiming that Johnson and Johnson’s talc-based baby powder causes cancer, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now plans to evaluate the potential risks of asbestos contamination of powders and cosmetics.

What would be the US health watchdog’s first review in nearly 50 years would focus on asbestos, the Reuters news agency said.

The review plans come on the heels of calls by some US lawmakers and consumer advocates for stricter safety regulations after the FDA found traces of the recognized carcinogen in one bottle of J&J’s iconic powder

The market leader in talcum powders has defended the safety of its products, saying that tests by labs it hired had found no asbestos in samples from the same bottle the FDA examined, except for some the company attributes to contamination from a lab air conditioner.

In a statement received by news agencies, J&J said it is looking forward to the FDA’s "thorough review of the most effective and reliable ways to test for asbestos in cosmetic talc."

For the first time since litigation over the cancer charges began, the healthcare giant’s CEO Alex Gorsky – after receiving a subpoena – testified in a state court in late January that the company has taken steps to ensure its powder is safe, and that experts have said it was using “the most appropriate, most up-to-date methodologies.” 

The FDA planned to begin its hearings on talc on Feb. 4. After a government panel has spoken, officials will take public comment from consumer advocates, industry representatives and testing experts. The agency has not said when it aims to make a decision.

In a written report, the government panel has already suggested that the talc industry’s standard testing methods have "long-recognized shortcomings in specificity and sensitivity." The authors recommend that mineral particles small enough to be drawn into the lungs should be counted as potentially harmful, even those the industry would not call asbestos, stressing that both can have similar pathological outcomes.

Nearly 17,000 plaintiffs suffering from mesothelioma or ovarian cancer have filed lawsuits against J&J in US state and federal courts, alleging that its baby powder caused their cancer and that the company failed to properly warn consumers of the risk. Some 24 lawsuits have gone to trial in state courts, with the outcome mixed.

A controversy meanwhile has arisen over the US Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed legislation allowing a pathway for certain old and inactive uses of asbestos to be placed on the market again after testing – even without a safety review that does not allow scientists to consider a considerable bulk of information demonstrating asbestos’ cancer risk.