CVS, Walmart and Rite Aid pull some J&J baby powder from shelves
CVS, Rite Aid and Walmart have stopped selling 22-ounce bottles of Johnson & Johnson baby powder. The move is tied to J&J's recall of 33,000 bottles last week, after regulators found trace amounts of asbestos in a single bottle purchased online, according to the companies and media reports.
J&J shares fell $2.40, or about 2%, to $127.50 after news of the retailers' actions Thursday.
For J&J, last week's recall was the latest setback for a company combating thousands of lawsuits claiming the talc-based powder contains the cancer-causing mineral. According to the company, the voluntary recall is limited to just one lot of 33,000 bottles of Johnson's Baby Powder produced and shipped in the U.S. last year.
J&J last week called the recall a precautionary measure and maintained that its baby powder does not contain asbestos.
"[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.
"Thousands of tests over the past 40 years repeatedly confirm that our consumer talc products do not contain asbestos. Our talc comes from ore sources confirmed to meet our stringent specifications that exceed industry standards," the statement continued.
According to J&J, independent laboratories have tested the company's talc and confirmed it is asbestos-free.
J&J said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found small amounts of asbestos in one bottle, which the company is currently investigating.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.