Healthcare c ompany Johnson & Johnson announced Thursday that it will no longer globally produce or distribute its talcum powder.

The company will instead produce a corn starch powder beginning in 2023. Its talcum product hasn't been for sale in the United States or Canada since 2020, while its corn starch powder has already hit the market in some countries.

"Our position on the safety of our cosmetic talc remains unchanged," Johnson & Johnson said in a statement. "We stand firmly behind the decades of independent scientific analysis by medical experts around the world that confirms talc-based JOHNSON’S® Baby Powder is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer."

BABY FORMULA SHORTAGE IS EXTENDING INTO LATE SUMMER

A shareholder proposal to discontinue the talcum powder failed in April. The proposal came after the company lost $3.5 billion in various court losses and settlements in which complainants claimed they developed cancers from the talcum product.

In 2021, Johnson & Johnson started a subsidiary called LTL Management to take on the legal troubles surrounding its talcum product, which ultimately filed for bankruptcy.

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Internal company records and trial testimonies proved that from at least 1971 to the early 2000s, J&J's raw and finished talc powders occasionally tested positive for small amounts of asbestos, according to reports in 2018.