By Hepeng Jia/Beijing, China

Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson has been involved in series of legal battles in China, after low levels of potentially hazardous chemicals were found in its baby care products.

'We are at our final stage of collecting evidence for a lawsuit [against Johnson & Johnson],' says Cui Baoyu, a partner at Beijing-based Borong Law Firm. Cui says up to 80 Chinese lawyers and 700 parents have been involved in the group litigation.

The consumer campaign began in early March when the US-based consumer group Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found that a Johnson & Johnson's baby shampoo had 210 parts per million (ppm) of formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, a toxic chemical whose high concentration has been found to cause cancers in animal tests.

The news immediately resulted in consumer protests in China, with threats to launch collective litigation against the company. Some parents claimed their children developed allergy symptoms after using the shampoo. 

Johnson & Johnson China responded that the products are safe and the trace levels of certain compounds result from production processes rather than intentional addition, and their levels are far lower than the maximum limit set by Chinese regulatory agencies and their counterparts worldwide.

In late March, the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) confirmed that their tests found the formaldehyde content in Johnson & Johnson's shampoo to be much lower than the official maximum limit of 2000 ppm in cosmetics, though they did not reveal the precise level detected.

In the tests, dioxane levels of 3.27 ppm were found in one sampled shampoo. SFDA said on its website that the chemical is forbidden in cosmetics material in China, but that the levels of dioxane detected that resulted from production processes should not cause any harm to consumers in normal conditions. The agency claimed that the attitude is consistent with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Cui says that the litigation was delayed partly due to the official testing. 'But we are organising medical tests for the children who experienced allergy symptoms to take to court as evidence. If their reactions are proved to have been caused by Johnson & Johnson's products, we will sue and win,' Cui told Chemistry World.

Separately, another Beijing consumer surnamed Shi has sued Johnson & Johnson, claiming the company violated consumers' right to know by failing to indicate the presence of formaldehyde and dioxane in its product labelling. The court will be in session on 23 July.

Cui also adds that the stipulated maximum contents for formaldehyde and dioxane in cosmetics are for adults. 'We are appealing for the lawmakers to introduce stricter limits for children's products, and the science community and Johnson & Johnson should be more responsible in performing studies to determine the acceptable safety level of any hazardous chemicals.'

But on the other hand, Li Li, a dermatology professor at Chengdu-based Sichuan University, says that consumers do not need to worry too much about the detected hazardous chemicals at this stage. 'We need first to look at the scientific evidence [on their levels],' Li told Chemistry World.