Major Chinese Grocer Pulls Johnson & Johnson from Shelves

In the wake of EWG’s report that found formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane in “gentle baby products, a major Chinese grocery chain is pulling Johnson & Johnson baby products from their shelves.

Nonggongshan Supermarkets Corporation (Bless you!), based in Shanghai, said the concern over carcinogens pushed them to make the choice.

We have to be responsible to consumers and suspend sales of these products until they are proved safe.

Anyone else think it’s ironic that a store in China is making the move to protect consumers faster than any here in the States?

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Internet chat rooms were buzzing with parents’ concerns in China. The Web, as you might have noticed, is also a flutter in the U.S., especially from enviros, consumer groups,  and natural parents.

And the FDA has little, if any, regulatory power over the chemicals used in cosmetics and toiletries. According to the EWG:

The FDA cannot require companies to test products for safety before they are sold, does not systematically review the safety of ingredients and does not set limits for common, harmful contaminants in products.

(Remember the FDA? Don’t get me started. After melamine was found in higher-than-allowable amounts in U.S. infant formula, they simply increased the “acceptable” amount. Now there’s rocket fuel in infant formula. What will be the “acceptable” level for that? There’s the Salmonella outbreaks, lack of Gardasil regulation, and the mercury in high fructose corn syrup. Puh-lease. Let’s not make the mistake of trusting the FDA to protect us.)

Of course, there are those who think we’re all overreacting. But formaldehyde is found in everything from furniture (glues and plywood) and clothes and sheets (to prevent mildew during long shipments), and now baby products.

Some say that these chemicals are necessary. They’re at such low amounts they won’t hurt us. But let’s see: the carcinogen is found in the bath and toiletry products you use daily on your child. Then you pop her is a that crib…the one with the accompanying dresser? They’re made of pressed board, which is off-gassing as we speak. Not to mention that sheet set or all those adorable onesies. But they were made in China, so they were treated with the chemical before their long trip to the States.

Little bits of exposure, here and there, matter. Until an independent study looks at all the various avenues for formaldehyde and its long-term effects, it’s hard to believe that exposure to a known cancer causing agent as an infant would be no prob, Bob.

As for me and my family? We’re sticking with the ones on the Skin Deep Cosmetic Database’s safe list. You know…the ones made without this “necessary” chemical.

Read another sassy blog on this topic here, where I reveal fun uses for Lysol!

Find the whole “No More Toxic Tub” report here.

Image: nathalielaure at Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

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