In 2019, Johnson & Johnson issued a recall of 33,000 bottles of Johnson’s Baby Powder after samples were found to contain asbestos. While J&J denies any liability and insists it did not sell cancer-causing products, it halted the sale of talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in North America in May 2020. In 2023, it switched to a cornstarch-based alternative and discontinued worldwide sales of talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder.

Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary, LTL Management LLC, refiled for bankruptcy in April 2023 as part of ongoing efforts to seek Chapter 11 protection. If successful, the reorganization will allow the company to fund an $8.9 billion bankruptcy trust to settle more than 38,000 current claims and future claims arising from talc lawsuits.

As of Nov. 16, 2023, J&J faced 53,311 pending talcum powder lawsuits in multidistrict litigation in New Jersey. MDL 2738 is before Judge Michael A. Shipp in U.S. District Court.