More Tylenol pills recalled over odor

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa. – Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday announced another Tylenol recall due to a musty moldy odor linked to a trace chemical.

The company’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit is recalling one product lot of Tylenol Extra Strength Caplets made in February 2009 and distributed in the U.S.

McNeil said it has received a small number of reports about the pills’ odor, which has been linked in past J&J recalls to the presence of trace amounts of “2,4,6-tribromoanisole.” TBA is a byproduct of a chemical preservative sometimes used on shipping pallets.

TBA has been associated with temporary and non-serious gastrointestinal symptoms.

Since September 2009, New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson has had about two dozen recalls of prescription and nonprescription medicines, replacement hips, contact lenses and diabetes test strips, including tens of millions of bottles of children’s and adult Tylenol and Motrin.

The product lot number for the recalled Tylenol Extra Strength product can be found on the side of the bottle label – it is ABA619 300450444271.

Customers should stop using the product from the lot and contact McNeil at www.tylenol.com or 1-888-222-6036 for instructions on receiving a refund or product coupon.