Many Ho Chi Minh City supermarkets have taken Johnson & Johnson’s baby bath products off their shelves after a US study found the company’s baby shampoo, lotion, and other infant care products containing two carcinogenic chemicals.
Some US newspapers published reports following tests commissioned on these products by American consumer group the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
The organization also alleged that these products usually contain formaldehyde or 1,4-dioxane or, in many cases, both.
Among some listed popular products that contain both contaminants allegedly tainted products were Johnson's Baby Shampoo and L'Oreal Kids Extra Gentle 2-in-1 shampoo, both widely sold in Vietnam.
Pham Thi Thanh Tuyen, director of Saigon Co.op supermarket, said her chain pulled out the baby bath products at its 35 outlets nationwide on March 17.
It has asked the distributor for more information about the products and is also waiting for authorities to test the products and announce the results.
Other retailers in the city followed suit. Maximark supermarket too has withdrawn Johnson’s baby products, as have Citimart and Big C, and they are awaiting information from health authorities.
But Johnson & Johnson products are still being sold at traditional markets like Kim Bien in District 5, Pham Van Hai in Tan Binh District, Ba Chieu and Van Thanh in Binh Thanh District, Tan Dinh in District 1 and some mini supermarkets in Binh Thanh and Go Vap Districts. A shopkeeper at Van Thanh market said people still buy the product despite having heard of the scare since they trust the Johnson & Johnson brand name.
In the circumstances, Truong Quoc Cuong, head of the Drugs Control Department, said March 17 that his office has sent an urgent dispatch to makers of baby products around the country asking for information about the quality of their products, especially about the presence of the offending chemicals – formaldehyde, which is used to embalm corpses, and 1,4-dioxane, a foaming agent.
It has also contacted the US’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the ASEAN Cosmetics Association.
The European Union has banned the use of 1,4-dioxane in personal care products, but the FDA has not established a safe limit for the chemical in shampoos, lotions, and other toiletries.
It maintains that trace amounts found in those products are not harmful. In 2000 the FDA recommended that cosmetic products should not contain 1,4-Dioxane in concentrations of more than 10 ppm (parts per million).
