Children’s Benadryl tablets latest recall by Johnson and Johnson
By JENNIFER WALKER-JOURNEY

Date: November 24th, 2010

Once again, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announces a recall of over-the-counter children’s and adult medicines. This latest snafu includes 4 million grape and cherry flavored Children’s Benadryl Allergy Fastmelt Tablets, 800,000 Junior Strength Motrin Caplets, and 71,000 Extra Strength Rolaids softchews. The recall of Benadryl and Motrin products are due to what the company described as “unspecified problems.” The Rolaids recall is a result consumer complaints about unusual texture in the tablets. The company has traced that issue back to crystallized sugar.

The announcement follows a laundry list of J&J product recalls involving tens of millions of bottles of Tylenol, Motrin and other nonprescription drugs due to complaints of musty odor and diarrhea, nausea and vomiting from people who used the products. This latest recall is on the wholesale and retail level, and should not affect those brands that are already in consumers’ medicine cabinets. To date, no side effects have been reported due to the “insufficiencies” in manufacturing of the drugs. The Food and Drug Administration says that no action is required by consumers or providers because the medicines still work and can still be used.

The products involved were manufactured at J&J’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare plant in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, the same facility blamed for lax quality standards that led to the previous recalls of J&J’s OTC medicines. A comprehensive quality assessment at the plant led to its closing earlier this year. The U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee continues to investigate J&J’s handling of the earlier recalls.

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