Friday, March 18 2005 20:20 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Wipro today (March 18, 2005) said it had declared the use of liquid paraffin oil in its baby soft oil and maintained that it had not violated any rules and regulations in this regard.

"We have declared the usage of liquid paraffin oil on the label of our baby oil. Our studies show that the ingredients used in our products are completely safe," the Bangalore-based Wipro, whose consumer products division produces cosmetic soaps including baby oil and soap, said in a statement in Bangalore.

Media reports citing officials of the Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) had said the FDA was investigating several baby oil and soap-manufacturing firms including Wipro about violation of rules and use of harmful substances for babies in their products.

FDA also filed a case against multinational Johnson and Johnson for not revealing the full contents including "liquid paraffin oil", a petroleum by-product in its baby oil.

"While we have not received any notice from the FDA, we can assure you that Wipro has not violated any rules and regulations of the land," Wipro said, adding that it has been selling the baby soft oil for 14 years.

Wipro said the manufacturing of products were based on a valid license granted by the FDA and "this issue has never been raised by authorities earlier, nor have we received any consumer complaints of adverse reaction to usage of our products".

Wipro produces cosmetic products at factories in Baddi in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.