Washington, Dec 4 (IANS): Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday reaffirmed that its baby powder is safe and free of asbestos after a comprehensive investigation into the United States Food and Drug Administration's (USFDA) earlier finding of sub-trace levels of asbestos in samples from a single bottle of Johnson's baby powder.

According to the company, tests conducted by two third-party labs show asbestos was not present in the single bottle that FDA tested, nor was it present in retained samples of the finished lot from which the bottle was produced.

"Our talc is safe and asbestos free, and these 150-plus tests, and the tests we routinely do to ensure the quality and safety of our talc-based products, are consistent with the results from renowned independent research labs over the past 40 years," the company said in a statement.

Asbestos is a group of naturally occurring fibrous minerals that have the potential to cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and other health groups.

Earlier in October, at least 33,000 bottles of Johnson's baby powder were recalled by the company in the US after health regulators found asbestos traces in a bottle that was purchased online.

In an earlier statement, J&J said that out of an abundance of caution, "it is initiating a voluntary recall in the United States of a single lot of its Johnson's Baby Powder in response to a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) test indicating the presence of sub-trace levels of chrysotile asbestos contamination (no greater than 0.00002 per cent) in samples from a single bottle purchased from an online retailer".

"Despite the low levels reported and in full cooperation and collaboration with the FDA, JJCI is initiating this voluntary recall of Lot #22318RB of Johnson's Baby Powder, from which the tested sample was taken," the company added.