J&J recalls antacids due to metal, wood particles.
ABC World News (12/9, story 4, 0:30, Sawyer) reported, "Johnson & Johnson is pulling 13 million packages of Rolaids off the store shelves, several different kinds of Rolaids soft chews."
The CBS Evening News (12/9, story 8, 0:20, Couric) reported, "The makers of Rolaids announced a recall today involving 13 million packages of the antacid. ... Customers reported finding bits of wood or metal in the tablets."
NBC Nightly News (12/9, story 6, 0:20, Williams) reported, "The company said the problem may have stemmed from a third party manufacturer." In fact, the AP (12/10) reports that "the materials were potentially introduced into the products during the manufacturing process at" this "outside manufacturer." Accordingly, the company "is suspending production of the Rolaids products in question."
Bloomberg News (12/10, Peterson, Olmos) reports, "While the risk of serious health effects is 'remote,' consumers who have purchased Rolaids Extra Strength Softchews, Rolaids Extra Strength plus Gas Softchews, or Rolaids Multi- Symptom plus Anti-Gas Softchews should stop using the products."
The New York Times (12/10, B1, Singer) reports on the front page of its Business Day section, the affected J&J unit, "McNeil Consumer Healthcare, has been troubled by manufacturing deficiencies over the last year, which has led to a series of recalls of some of the country's most popular over-the-counter brands. A recall in April alone involved about 136 million bottles of liquid children's Tylenol and other pediatric products." WebMD (12/10), the Wall Street Journal (12/10, Loftus, subscription required), and the Wall Street Journal "Health Blog" (12/9, Hobson, subscription required) also report the story.