PediaCare recall issued as probe into J&J's Motrin recall continues

The recall PediaCare products are the latest development in J&J's Children's Tylenol recall scandal.

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PediaCare products have been recalled and parents in the Dallas Metroplex are heading to their medicine cabinets in the wake of congressional hearings into the Children's Tylenol recall and Johnson & Johnson's manufacturing practices. Meanwhile, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Edolphus Towns, vowed to continue the congressional investigation of the J&J subsidiary's history of handling defective drugs and pharmaceutical manufacturing problems.

Blacksmith Brands bought PediaCare and several other consumer product lines from Johnson & Johnson last November. Although Blacksmith Brands has long planned to transfer manufacturing of PediaCare and other products to its own factories this July, the recalled PediaCare products-- which include PediaCare Multi-Symptom Cold, PediaCare Long Acting Cough, PediaCare Decongestant and PediaCare Allergy and Cold-- were still being manufactured at the McNeil plant that made the Children's Tylenol, Motrin and other children's medicines covered by J&J's April 30 recall. (For more information on the PediaCare Recall, including what Dallas area parents should do about it, see below.)

After Thursday's congressional hearings into the Johnson & Johnson's Children's Tylenol recall, the House Committee, led by Rep.Edolphus Towns was especially angered by J&J's efforts to conceal manufacturing problems of its drugs from the FDA. One especially egregious occurrence was the attempt by McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the J&J manufacturing unit who made the contaminated children's medicines, to avoid a recall of Motrin in November 2008 by instructing contractors to pose as ordinary consumers an buy up as much of the tainted Motrin as possible without drawing suspicion from retailers by mentioning a recall. The affected Motrin was eventually recalled, but not until July 2009-- a full 8 months later.

For more information about Thursday's congressional hearings into Johnson & Johnson, and whether the FDA should have the power to issue recalls instead of being limited to pressuring drugmakers into doing so, see Update: Criminal charges possible in Children's Tylenol recall – Can Dallas consumers trust J & J?  For more information about the PediaCare recall, see below.

What do you think?

Blacksmith Brands should be applauded for their proactive stance, and the PediaCare recall is a shining example of what is intended to happen under the current laws governing the FDA. Johnson & Johnson's corporate behavior surrounding the Children's Tylenol and Motrin recalls, on the other hand, shows the drawbacks of letting drug makers be self-regulating, but expanding FDA power could have far reaching implications for consumers. Do you think the FDA should have more power over drug makers and over the counter consumer medicines? Let us know in the comment section below; no registration is necessary to voice your opinion.

What Dallas area parents and Metroplex retailers should do about the PediaCare recall.

The recalled PediaCare products are as follows: PediaCare Multi-Symptom Cold, PediaCare Long Acting Cough, PediaCare Decongestant and PediaCare Allergy and Cold children's medicines. Dallas area parents who have these products at home should throw them away, and retailers throughout the Dallas Metroplex should pull the recalled children's medicines from their shelves, if they have not done so already.

Blacksmith Brands stresses that there have been no complaints about the recalled PediaCare products in Dallas or elsewhere. The PediaCare liquid children's medicines have been recalled purely as a precautionary measure, since they were made at the same McNeil factory as the recalled Children's Tylenol, Children's Benadryl and other recalled J&J children's medicines.

For more information about the PediaCare recall, consumers can call 888-474-3099 or visit Blacksmith Brands on the web. Adverse reactions can be reported to the Food and Drug Administration at 800-332-1088 or on the FDA website.

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