Aerosol Personal Care Products Contain Benzene Class Action

The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) sells a variety of personal care products. This class action concerns certain of its aerosol antiperspirant and deodorant sprays and dry shampoos and conditioners. The complaint alleges that the products were found to contain benzene, a carcinogen.

The Nationwide Class for this action is all persons who bought the products in the US. Four state subclasses have also been defined, for those who bought the products in Illinois, Arizona, California, or Florida.

The roots of this class action go back to 2021, when a laboratory called Valisure, LLC tested antiperspirant and deodorant sprays from a number of different manufacturers. Some of the P&G products tested, the complaint alleges, were found to contain benzene.

On November 3, 2021, Valisure filed a citizen’s petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), asking the agency to recall any batches of antiperspirants or deodorants that contained 0.1 parts per million (ppm) or more of benzene, claiming they were adulterated.

A few weeks later, on November 23, P&G voluntarily recalled certain of its Old Spice and Secret brands of antiperspirants and deodorants.

Less than a month later, on December 17, 2021, it announced another voluntary recall this time of aerosol dry shampoo and dry conditioner products under its Pantene, Aussie, Herbal Essences, and Waterless brands, as well as discontinued dry shampoo products under its Old Spice and Hair Foods brands.

Benzene has been known as a health hazard for more than a hundred years. The complaint quotes the FDA as saying, “Benzene is a carcinogen that can cause cancer in humans,” and identifying it as a Class 1 solvent that should be avoided. A number of organizations, such as the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Toxicology Program, and the World Health Organization, have claimed that benzene causes cancer in human beings. Benzene is also associated with leukemia and other blood problems.

People can be exposed to benzene by inhalation, ingestion, absorption through the skin, or skin or eye contact.

Benzene was not listed on any of the products as an active or inactive ingredient, the complaint alleges, and claims that, in fact, P&G specifically says, on its website, that benzene is one of a list of materials that “we do not use as ingredients in any of our formulated products.”

Antiperspirants are regulated by the FDA as over-the-counter drugs. The complaint alleges, “No amount of benzene is acceptable in aerosol antiperspirant and deodorant sprays and aerosol dry conditioner and dry shampoo products,” such the products P&G recalled.

P&G’s recalls told consumers to stop using the products at issue and to discard them, but according to the complaint, “any suggestion of reimbursement is either nonexistent or illusory. Information concerning these recalls is not prominent thereon but is buried within these brand websites or missing altogether.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Breach of Contract, Breach of warranty, Deceptive Advertising, Deceptive Labels