Recalls stink: Tylenol, Motrin, and Rolaids recalled due to foul odor
Johnson & Johnson announced today that it is recalling 500 lots of over-the-counter medication
due to "an unusual moldy, musty, or mildew-like odor that, in a small number of cases, was associated with temporary and non-serious gastrointestinal events," the consumer division of the company stated.
The recall includes Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, St. Joseph's Aspirin, and Rolaids and widens the reach of a voluntary recall issued in 2009. The smell is blamed on a chemical known as 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA). It has not been determined how trace amounts of TBA seeped into the products, but likely was derived from another chemical used on wood pallets.
Reports of nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea are connected to the chemical. Last December, 52 lots of Tylenol were recalled for chemical issues. Johnson & Johnson is reacting by expanding the criteria for this chemical recall in conjunction with the FDA, discontinuing the sale of products shipped on wood pallets, and requiring that their suppliers cease pallet use.
With recalls ranging from their infant and children's formulas to these spurred by chemicals, and with recent press about the dangers of acetaminophen overdose, are you apt to steer clear of Tylenol and other Johnson & Johnson products? Or are you standing by the brands you've used for years?
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