Johnson & Johnson Consumer Unit Recalls 574,000 Bottles Of Infant Tylenol

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Posted on 19th February 2012 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

Pity the public relations executives at Johnson & Johnson. They’re working overtime again.

The New Brunwick, N.J.-based pharmaceutical giant has another recall on its hands. The company’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit, which according to the Associated Press has had about two dozen recalls since September 2009, now has another one on its hands.

On Friday the company announced that it was recalling 574,000 bottles of grape-flavored Infants’ Tylenol from retailers across the nation.  

http://www.philly.com/philly/health/139511008.html?cmpid=15585797

There’s much irony in this, irony a PR person won’t find amusing. These recalled bottles, which had been redesigned to supposedly make it easier to measure Tylenol doses, were unveiled three months ago. Johnson & Johnson boasted that this was a big safety improvement. 

But there soon was a hitch: Consumers started complaining that the plastic syringe, used to give babies their Tylenol, was pushing a so-called “flow restrictor,” into the bottle. Hence the recall.

And here’s my favorite understatement of 2012 so far:

“Today’s news about the Infants’ Tylenol recall is clearly disappointing after all the progress that McNeil has been making to ensure it products meet the highest level of quality and consumer satisfaction,” CEO William Weldon said in a prepared statement.

Disappointing, indeed.