A mold smell that made people sick has caused Johnson & Johnson to issue a massive recall on over-the-counter drugs including Tylenol, Motrin, and St. Joseph’s aspirin.
This is the second such recall in less than a month because of the smell which was first reported to McNeil in 2008. Federal regulators have criticized the company for taking so long to respond to complaints and that it failed to inform the Food and Drug Administration promptly.
The recall includes some batches of regular and extra-strength Tylenol, Children's Tylenol, Eight-Hour Tylenol, Tylenol Arthritis, Tylenol PM, Children's Motrin, Motrin IB, Benadryl, Rolaids, Simply Sleep, and St. Joseph's aspirin.
The recall includes caplet and geltab products.
Consumers are urged to check the full list of recalled batches at http://www.mcneilproductrecall.com.
About 70 people have become ill with symptoms including nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Some just noticed the smell.
Chemicals on wooden pallets are to blame for the smell and the company has said they will stop shipping the products with the same materials on the wooden pallets.
McNeil received a letter from the FDA for violating manufacturing standards and failing to report and investigate the problem in a timely way.
The FDA wants to know why the problem wasn’t reported sooner and has given Johnson & Johnson 15 days to respond.
Tylenol Arthritis Caplets were recalled in November due to the smell and almost three weeks ago the company expanded its recall to include more batches of Tylenol Arthritis Caplets.
The company said it is working with the FDA.
Sources:
AP
McNeilProductRecall.com
ABC News
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