Talc should be avoided in lieu of alternatives, scientific experts tell FDA

A panel of scientific experts brought together by the FDA this week urged the agency to scale back the use of the naturally occurring mineral talc present in personal care products, cosmetics, and drugs, and use alternatives instead.

Talc has long been thought to potentially contribute to the development of ovarian cancer. The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer found that talc is “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

The May 20 roundtable of experts called on the FDA to study and adopt new standards that would end up banning talc in consumer products.

“It’s clear (talc) is carcinogenic and inflammatory and there’s very little doubt about this,” said George Tidmarsh, a pediatric neonatologist and professor at Stanford University, who was one of the panelists said. “In my opinion, it’s not a matter of if talc should be removed from the U.S. market, it’s a matter of how and when.”

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary noted that talc is present in candy and food. He added it is also in four of the 10 most-prescribed medicines in the U.S.: Lipitor, Synthroid, Prilosec, and Neurontin.

“If you’ve ever unwrapped a piece of gum, that white powder that keeps it from sticking to the wrapper — that’s talc that you’re putting in your mouth that we now know is carcinogenic,” Tidmarsh said.

Representatives from the food industry were not on the panel, Chemical & Engineering News reported.

Potential alternatives to talc include magnesium stearate, calcium stearate, and colloidal silicon dioxide, noted Steven Pfeiffer, an organic chemist at privately held Mirador Therapeutics, adding that the substances are safe, cheap, and readily available.

For years, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has contended with lawsuits arguing that the healthcare giant’s talc-based products led to ovarian cancer. In April, J&J’s third attempt to resolve these cases by creating a division that would declare bankruptcy, was rejected by a judge.