Johnson & Johnson recalls Baby Powder after a bottle tested positive for traces of cancer-causing asbestos at the center of 13,000 lawsuits

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Johnson & Johnson has issued a voluntary recall of one lot of its talcum Baby Powder after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found traces of asbestos, which causes cancer, the company announced Friday.  

The company said it was issuing the recall out of 'an abundance of caution,' as the amount of asbestos it found was 'sub-trace,' and limited to samples from a single bottle.   

Asbestos is a carcinogen, known to cause mesothelioma - and tens of thousands of people have sued J&J, claiming that long-term exposure to the substance in its Baby Powder gave them the cancer, which affects the lining of the chest. 

Citing FDA tests from last month, J&J Said that it's products broadly do not contain asbestos, but its stock prices fell by 2.6 percent ahead of Friday trading, suggesting the public may be responding with skepticism.

A bottle of Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder tested positive for asbestos, the contaminant blamed for causing mesothelioma and other cancers in over 13,000 lawsuits. The company issued a voluntary recall of the lot that bottle came from on Friday (file) 

Asbestos naturally forms alongside talc, the mineral base for Baby Powder, in nature. 

But this doesn't always happen, so talc mines are supposed to be tested for asbestos and, if they're positive, are to be avoided. 

For decades, J&J claimed that its powder was asbestos-free. 

But a Reuters investigation published last year suggested that that wasn't always the case - and the company knew. 

According to the report, from 1971 through the early 2000s, Baby Powder periodically tested positive for small amounts of asbestos, and company higher-ups did not disclose the findings. 

Meanwhile, a growing number of Americans were developing mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the a tissue that lines and protects certain organs, including the lungs and chest cavity. 

It accounts for just 0.3 percent of all cancers diagnosed in the US and, for those with pleural mesothelioma, the average survival time is only about 12 to 14 months, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders. 

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) considers the links between mesothelioma and asbestos strong enough to say that the toxin causes the cancer. 

And since its discovery in Baby Powder, more than 13,000 lawsuits have been filed against J&J, claiming that its products had led to cancers and deaths.

Earlier this week, yet another study, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found that asbestos in taclum powder causes cancer. 

Many of the suits are ongoing, but have already cost the company many billions of dollars. 

The contamination announced Friday consisted of 0.00002 percent asbestos - less than a trace, but nonetheless evidence the carcinogen is still finding its way into talc powders. 

J&J 'has a rigorous testing standard in place to ensure its cosmetic talc is safe and years of testing, including the FDA's own testing on prior occasions - and as recently as last month - found no asbestos,' the company said in a statement. 

The bottle in question was bought from an online retailer and J&J says that it is investigating whether the test could be a false positive, if the bottle could have been contaminated or if the product might have been a counterfeit.