Claire's has announced a voluntary recall of three cosmetic products after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers that they may contain asbestos, a known carcinogen, even though Claire's has disputed the FDA test results.
The voluntary recall comes approximately a week after the FDA's announcement that samples of Claire's "eye shadows batch no./lot no. 08/17, compact powder batch no./lot no. 07/15 and contour palette batch no./lot no. 04/17" all tested positive for tremolite asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral often found in the earth near talc, an ingredient in many makeup products. Talc can become contaminated with asbestos while being mined, according to the FDA.
"Consumers who have these batches/lots of Claire's Eye Shadow, Compact Powder, and Contour in their home should stop using them," the FDA said in an alert posted on its website last week. "Claire's has informed us that it does not believe that affected products are still available for sale."
The FDA said it's not aware of any adverse reactions associated with exposure to the three products.
While the company has already pulled the products from the shelves, they have now issued a voluntary recall and are advising consumers who have purchased these products to "discontinue use and return them to a Claire's store for a full refund," according to a statement from the company.
The company reiterated, however, that "Claire’s is not aware of any adverse reactions, injuries or illness caused by the possible presence of asbestos in the recalled products."
"We are working with FDA to ensure the agency and our customers share that confidence," the statement added.
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Prior to the voluntary recall, Claire's disputed the FDA tests.
"There is no evidence that any products sold by Claire's are unsafe," the company said in a statement last week. "The recent test results the FDA have shared with us show significant errors. Specifically, the FDA test reports have mischaracterized fibers in the products as asbestos, in direct contradiction to established EPA and USP criterion for classifying asbestos fibers. Despite our efforts to discuss these issues with the FDA, they insisted on moving forward with their release. We are disappointed that the FDA has taken this step, and we will continue to work with them to demonstrate the safety of our products."
The retail chain emerged from bankruptcy in October after filing in March last year.
