Pretoria – The National Consumer Commission is urging people in possession of Purity Essentials baby powder to immediately discontinue its use and return the product to the point of purchase.
Acting National Consumer Commissioner, Thezi Mabuza said Tiger Brands, the supplier of the product, has informed the commission of the “precautionary recall” of Purity Essentials baby powder due to traces of asbestos found in test samples from a batch of “pharmaceutical-grade talc powder”.
“According to Tiger Brands, talc powder is a raw material used in the production of baby powder products. Although no injuries have been reported, we urge consumers to immediately discontinue the use of this product and return it to the point of purchase for a full refund,” said Mabuza.
“While this is a precautionary recall, we do not take it lightly as the end-users are the most vulnerable consumers.”
Consumers are urged to look for the following product description to determine whether the products in their possession form part of the recall:
– PURITY Essentials Baby Powder/Purity and Elizabeth Anne’s Essentials Baby Powder 100g with barcode 06009523601859
– PURITY Essentials Baby Powder/Purity and Elizabeth Anne’s Essentials Baby Powder 200g with barcode 6009523601866
– Purity Essentials Baby Powder/Purity and Elizabeth Anne’s Essentials Baby Powder 400g with barcode 6009523601828
– Purity and Elizabeth Anne’s Fresh Baby Powder 400g with barcode 6009523604515
Batches of these products were distributed nationally and to the following countries: Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, DRC, Seychelles, St Helena, UK, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Ireland, and New Zealand.
The National Consumer Commission said it requires suppliers to maintain a high level of protection for consumers by conducting quality checks before the distribution of products into the market. This, the consumer watchdog said would help manufactures to avoid “these mishaps”.
“Protection of consumers is the mainstay of the commission. We therefore remind suppliers and manufacturers of goods and services that they also have an obligation to prioritise the safety of consumers. The commission is monitoring the recall based on its recall guidelines,” Mabuza said.
“Business Report” said the share price of South Africa's biggest food producer, Tiger Brands, fell by 8% on Wednesday, after it announced that it was recalling its Purity Essentials baby powder products as a precautionary measure.
The share price of the firm, which has a market cap of about R30 billion, fell to a low of R149.57 on the statement, but recovered later in the day.
IOL