SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Johnson’s Baby Shampoo is staple with parents and children across America.
Nicole Smith is new to motherhood. Her son Corbit is an infant.
“I’ve always like Johnson and Johnson,” Smith said. “They say it is good for babies.”
Smith is not alone. Several mothers and fathers tell ABC4 News Johnson and Johnson is their brand of choice.
However, a group called Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has been boycotting the shampoo for two years. They are a national coalition made up of nonprofit women’s, environmental, public health, faith and worker safety organizations.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics released a report in which they tested Johnson and Johnson shampoo and other products. They found low levels of quaternium-15.
Quaternium-15 releases tiny amounts of formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is considered a carcinogen in large doses.
Quaternium-15 is used a preservative in the products to fight off bacteria. It is a necessary preservative, according to Barbara Crouch, Executive Director for University of Utah’s School of Pharmacy.
“The preservatives are essential and required by law to prevent bacterial growth,” Crouch said. “You don't want anything growing in your shampoo while it sits there in the bottle.”
The products also contain 1,4 dioxane. It occurs as a byproduct of the chemical process and is used to make products gentler on peoples’ skin.
The Food and Drug Administration approves the small amounts of chemical in the shampoo. It is not harmful because the low levels of chemical are well below the threshold of dangerous amounts.
Johnson and Johnson announced it will slowly start phasing out the use of preservatives that release small amounts of formaldehyde. They continue to search for new technology that will eliminate 1,4 dioxane from the manufacturing process.
In a release, Johnson and Johnson said:
At JOHNSON’S®, what’s most important to us is the bond of trust we have with the parents and others who rely on us to care for their families. Most parents already know that the ingredients in our JOHNSON’S® Baby products meet and often exceed the government safety standards for every country and market in which we operate. In addition, our team of physicians and scientists constantly monitor the best available science to make decisions about the formulations of our products.
So you can be assured that every JOHNSON’S® product is safe. But that’s only the beginning. We understand that trust sometimes means going beyond safety alone. That’s why we are continually improving our products to contain purer, milder and gentler ingredients that parents can use with complete confidence and peace of mind.
Among the steps we’re taking to go beyond just safety alone are:
We have been phasing out the use of preservatives that release tiny amounts of formaldehyde to guard against bacterial contamination. These preservative technologies, which are used widely in our industry are all safe and approved in the countries where they are sold. Going beyond safety alone, to meet the changing needs and expectations of parents, we are no longer introducing new baby products that contain these types of preservatives. Over the past couple of years, we already have reduced the number of formulations globally with these “formaldehyde releaser” preservatives by 33% and in the U.S. by over 60%. We are completing this reformulation as quickly as we can safely and responsibly do so.
As part of the manufacturing process, we have extensive monitoring to ensure that the amount of a trace byproduct known as “1,4 dioxane” in any of our products is well below the level that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and regulatory agencies around the world consider safe. In addition, we already have reformulated approximately 70% of our baby products with new cleansing formulations that further reduce these traces to below reliably detectable levels, and are continuing to reformulate. We also continue to search for new technologies that will eliminate 1,4 dioxane from the manufacturing process altogether.
We have introduced new product formulations for consumers who prefer natural products, such as JOHNSON’S® Natural®, a line that is 98% natural, and contains no formaldehyde releasing preservatives or traces of 1,4 dioxane. JOHNSON’S® Natural® is priced considerably below “boutique” natural baby products, and puts an all-natural line within the budget of most consumers.
For more than 100 years, Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies have been providing parents with safe and effective products for their babies and young children. Our goal is to go beyond safety alone, to provide parents and their babies with pure, mild, and gentle, products that they can trust and use with confidence.
For more information you can contact Utah Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222 of the Food and Drug Administration at 1-888-INFO-FDA or 1-888-463-6332.
