After smelly Tylenol to wood and metal bits inside Rolaids packages, Johnson & Johnson is hesitant to reveal its exact number of recalls. “We have never given that out for any of the recalls,” says Bonnie Jacobs, a spokeswoman for McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a Johnson & Johnson unit based in Fort Washington, Pa.
The FDA warned the company back in 2008, when reports of nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, or diarrhea were associated with medications, but formal recalls were not issued until November 2009. Throughout 2010, the recalls mounted, affecting brands including Benadryl, Motrin, Tylenol, Rolaids, Zyrtec, St. Joseph, and Simply Sleep medications.
“McNeil had one recall after another that showed very poor quality control practices,” says Mays.
