The record
FDA withdrew the proposed rule on November 28, 2025, citing comments warranting further consideration, and stated it will issue a new proposed rule to meet its MoCRA section 3505 obligations.
Claim scope
Status as of 2026: there is NO federal regulation specifying how talc cosmetics must be tested for asbestos. The proposed rule published at 89 FR 105490 'is withdrawn as of November 28, 2025.' FDA received 49 comments. The stated grounds were 'the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) priorities,' 'the highly scientific and technical issues addressed in public comments,' and 'the complexity of asbestos testing and legal considerations under the Administrative Procedure Act.' Signed by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary, HHS. A Federal Register query on RIN 0910-AI82 returns exactly two documents — the proposal and this withdrawal — with no final rule and no replacement proposal on the record.
What this source does not establish
Does NOT establish that FDA abandoned the mandate; FDA states the opposite. Does NOT establish that a replacement proposed rule has issued — as of this verification no successor document appears under RIN 0910-AI82.
Limitations
Three substantive comment themes FDA names as prompting withdrawal, quoted rather than characterized: (a) that the rule 'would have unintended consequences for many consumer products containing talc'; (b) requests for 'consistency with the established definitions or approaches used by other Federal agencies, including the Department of Labor ... and Environmental Protection Agency'; (c) comments 'regarding the Agency's statutory authority under law to add a specific adulteration provision relating to talc testing and regarding its authority to consider a cosmetic containing any amount of asbestos to be adulterated.' Report these as comments FDA received, not as findings FDA endorsed.
Source
Federal Register — 90 FR 54603 (Nov. 28, 2025), FR Doc. 2025-21407, 'Testing Methods for Detecting and Identifying Asbestos in Talc-Containing Cosmetic Products; Withdrawal'