Foul odors caused by chemical contaminants prompt sixth J&J drug recall

Sunday, April 03, 2011 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: Johnson & Johnson, recall, health news

(NaturalNews) Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is back in the news again, this time for yet another drug recall. According to the McNeil Consumer Healthcare product recall website, J&J is recalling 34,000 bottles of Tylenol 8 Hour Extended Release because the medicines reportedly have a "musty or moldy odor" that the company believes was caused by chemical contamination.

The recall applies to all 150-count bottles of Tylenol 8 Hour Extended Release Caplets with the Lot Number ADM074 printed on the bottom. The pills come from the same troubled Fort Washington, Penn., plant involved in numerous recalls throughout 2010, which included several other Tylenol products and upwards of 250 million units of drug products in total (https://www.naturalnews.com/031072_Johnson_&_...).

Most of these previous recalls were conducted at the wholesale level and did not necessarily require any action by consumers. But the current Tylenol recall is more serious as it involves potential contamination with two very critical chemical contaminants -- 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA) and 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA). These two chemicals, which are believed to be responsible for the foul odor, are used to treat the wooden pallets that store and ship drugs.

The announcement indicates that J&J has also added 717,000 units of Tylenol, Benadryl, Sudafed and Rolaids products to its January 14 wholesale recall, which brings that recall total to nearly 48 million. J&J alleges that the products involved in that recall are safe, and that the measures are simply precautionary.

A recent Time article explains that because J&J has been unable to bring the Fort Washington plant up to reasonable standards, the federal government has seized legal control of it. The plant, which has been closed since April 2010, will remain closed until it is able to pass proper inspections.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.mcneilproductrecall.com/page.jhtm...

http://healthland.time.com/2011/03/31/tyleno...