The record
Italy's national health institute used scanning electron microscopy to verify absence of asbestos fibres in cosmetic talc after positive identifications in several samples, but in 2008 Italy adopted the European Pharmacopoeia, under which light microscopy alone became sufficient — a documented downgrade in analytical stringency.
Claim scope
That the PLM-versus-electron-microscopy question is not a US-only dispute and that at least one European jurisdiction moved from SEM to light microscopy. Establishes that the Italian National Institute of Health 'used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to ascertain the absence of asbestos fibres, following positive identification in several samples they had analysed.'
What this source does not establish
Does NOT establish current contamination of any Italian or EU product. Does NOT establish the number of positive samples or when. The authors themselves record an archival gap: 'documents on the above-mentioned SEM research that would have contextualized observations were not recovered from the Italian State Archive.' The pharmacopoeia characterization is the authors' reading; the page should attribute it to them rather than assert it as a finding about European Pharmacopoeia requirements.
Limitations
Italian-language article; the English abstract was verified but the full text was not obtained in this pass. Historical/regulatory review, not a cohort study — tier assigned as peer-reviewed PubMed-indexed literature, but it carries no quantitative risk measure.
Source
Pmid — 38995139