Johnson & Johnson Widens Drug Recall

Smell in drugs caused nausea and stomach pains

New Brunswick, NJ-based Johnson & Johnson expanded their recall of some of their over-the-counter drugs Friday for the second time, in a response to a moldy smell that made users sick.

The list of drugs now includes 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. Caplet and geltab products sold in the Americas, the United Arab Emirates, and Fiji  were also recalled.

The smell affected around 70 people, and resulted in nausea and stomach pains.

Food and Drug Administration officials were critical of Johnson & Johnson's delayed action in recalling the drugs, stating that the agency knew of the problem since early 2008 but only made a limited investigation.   

Johnson & Johnson says the smell is caused by small amounts of a chemical associated with the treatment of  wooden pallets. The FDA said the chemical can leach into the air, and traced it to a facility in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico.

Johnson & Johnson said they will stop shipping products with the same materials on wooden pallets, and have asked  suppliers to do so as well.

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