"Moldy Smelling" Tylenol Recalled
All TYLENOL® Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles with the distinctive red EZ-OPEN caps have been recalled after consumer complaints of “an unusual moldy, musty, or mildew-like odor that was associated with nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea.”
The contamination is apparently the result of some wooden pallets that the pills were shipped on.
The uncharacteristic smell is caused by the presence of trace amounts of a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole. The source of 2,4,6-tribromoanisole is believed to be the breakdown of a chemical used to treat wooden pallets that transport and store packaging materials. The health effects of this compound have not been well studied, and to date all of the observed events reported to McNeil were temporary and non-serious.
We thought we’d heard everything, but nope. That’s a new one.
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