Pantene maker Procter & Gamble moves to reassure Chinese consumers after US recall of shampoo sprays over cancer-causing chemical
- Products sold under popular brand names including Herbal Essences, Aussie and Waterless were recalled over the presence of benzene
- China has a long history of product safety problems and the news triggered concerns about the safety of products sold there
Procter & Gamble has sought to reassure Chinese consumers that its products sold in the country are safe, after it recalled some lines from its popular Pantene and Herbal Essences brands in North America due to the presence of a cancer-causing chemical.
On Friday, the Cincinnati-based company announced that it was voluntarily recalling the 13 aerosol dry conditioner spray products and 19 aerosol dry shampoo spray products after detecting “unexpected levels” of benzene in the products.
These included sprays from Pantene, Herbal Essences, Aussie and Waterless produced in the United States and previously discontinued products from Old Spice and Hair Food.
P&G’s product recall was among the top three most searched topics on Weibo on Sunday, with some leaving comments on the social media platform asking whether a similar review should be conducted for products sold in China.
“If bigger brands are having this kind of problem, what about smaller brands?” asked one commenter.
The company posted a statement on the platform on Sunday to clarify that products sold in China were not affected.