J&J To Remove Potential Carcinogens From Product Ingredients.

J&J To Remove Potential Carcinogens From Product Ingredients.

ABC World News (8/15, story 9, 0:25, Sawyer) reported, "There is a big announcement tonight from Johnson & Johnson. The company says it will change the ingredients in all its cosmetics, creams and baby items to guarantee they no longer contain even trace amounts of chemicals that could be linked to cancer. The company's been under pressure to make its products safer."

        According to the AP (8/16, Johnson), J&J released a statement saying it is planning to "remove potentially cancer-causing and other dangerous chemicals from nearly all its adult toiletries and cosmetic products worldwide." Late last year, the company "pledged to remove 'chemicals of concern' from its baby products around the world after being pressed to do so for more than three years by a large coalition of health and environmental groups." And on Tuesday, J&J reiterated that vow, saying it "remains on track to have baby products...reformulated with safer ingredients by the end of 2013"; and it expects to have its adult products "reformulated by the end of 2015." Additionally, J&J on Wednesday, "launched a website, safetyandcarecommitment.com" to keep consumers informed on "what it does to ensure its ingredients are safe and of high quality."

        On the front page of its Business Day section, the New York Times (8/16, B1, Thomas, Subscription Publication) reports that among the ingredients J&J plans to remove is formaldehyde, which "last year was identified by government scientists as a carcinogen," and is released by common preservatives such as "quaternium-15 and DMDM hydantoin," and "1,4 dioxane," which is "created during a process commonly used to make other ingredients gentler on the skin." The company also plans to get rid of "phthalates, which have a variety of uses, like lessening the stiffening effects of hair spray; several fragrance ingredients"; triclosan, an antibacterial; and parabens, a preservative.