Consumers who rely on the over-the-counter (OTC) pain formula of Tylenol may want to make another choice.
Johnson & Johnson announced yet another in a string of product recalls on Thursday, July 8, when the company recalled 21 more lots of Tylenol due to a musty or moldy odor, a Reuters story reports.
This is reportedly a follow-up to a January recall of 53 million bottles for the same problem. J&J, and its subsidiary, McNeil Healthcare, had received complaints from consumers about the smell last year which was eventually traced to a chemical, TBA, found in the wooden pallets that ship and store the packaging for Tylenol and other pain medications. The problematic manufacturing plant is in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico.
One has to wonder about quality control throughout J&J. This is the fifth recent recall for McNeil, the FDA is investigating, as is a congressional committee. Just this year, the McNeil factory, located in Ft. Washington, Pennsylvania, was closed following an FDA investigation that found a hole in the ceiling, filthy conditions, and bacterial contamination in formulations for children.
Back in November, 2008, the problems began for J&J with a recall of 12,000 bottles of Mylicon OTC infant anti-gas formula for potential metal fragments in some bottles.
Since then recalls have included:
- September 2009- some infant and children’s Tylenol recalled for possible bacterial contamination
- November 2009 – Tylenol Arthritis recalled for mildew odor linked to stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea
- December 2009 – Expansion of Tylenol Arthritis cap recall for odor problem
- January 2010 – 53 million bottles of Tylenol, Motrin and Rolaids, Benadryl, and St. Joseph’s Aspirin recalled for musty odors
- April 2010 – Children and infant pain reliever recall including Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec and Benadryl
- June 2010 – Benadryl, Tylenol gels recalled due to musty odor
Jacksonville pharmaceutical litigation lawyers are concerned with the recent spate of Tylenol recalls. Please be sure that any of the above recalled products are properly disposed of and not used.
