Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday ordered fresh testing of samples of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) baby powder. Along with this, the court allowed the company to manufacture the product (baby powder), but it cannot be sold. The company had filed a petition challenging two orders from the state government.
Of these, the September 15 order canceled the license and the September 20 order asked the company to immediately stop the production and sale of baby powder. These orders were issued by the Joint Commissioner and Licensing Authority of the State Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Justice S. V. Gangapurwala and Justice S. Yes. Dige’s division bench on Wednesday directed the FDA to collect fresh samples from the company’s factory in Mumbai’s Mulund area within three days.
After this, these samples will be sent to three laboratories – two government and one private – for testing. The court said that the samples will be sent to the Central Drug Testing Laboratory (Western Region), FDA Lab, and Intertek Laboratory for examination. After this, these laboratories will have to submit their reports within a week.
Senior advocate Ravi Kadam, appearing for the company, demanded that the court allow the company to at least manufacture the product till then. At the same time, the bench said that the government has stopped the petitioner from selling or distributing baby powder. The company has to comply with this order. If the company chooses to manufacture the product, it will be at its own risk.
