Johnson and Johnson under criminal investigation in US over asbestos in talcum powder

A federal grand jury in Washington DC is examining company documents as part of a criminal probe by the US justice department into what executives at Johnson and Johnson may have known or concealed about asbestos in their talcum products, according to a Bloomberg news report that cites “people with knowledge of the matter.”1

The company is facing around 14 000 lawsuits over Johnson’s Baby Powder and other talcum products such as Shower to Shower, which plaintiffs say caused mesotheliomas and ovarian cancers. But this is the first news of a criminal investigation, which if it leads to charges could set a new …