11 Million Bottles Of Acetaminophen Caplets Recalled In USA

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Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Pain / Anesthetics;  Headache / Migraine;  Arthritis / Rheumatology
Article Date: 09 Nov 2006 - 8:00 PDT

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Eleven million bottles of store-brand acetaminophen (paracetamol) caplets have been recalled by Perrigo Co. of Allergan, Michigan, the makers, saying that they may be contaminated with metal fragments - the fragments may be inside the caplets themselves.

So far, authorities have received no reports of illnesses. The FDA says the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.

The metal fragments were found by Perrigo Co. employees during their own regulatory quality control procedures. Perrigo Co. is the world's largest producer of store-brand OTC medications. (OTC = Over-the-counter, non-prescription drug).

You can see if you have an affected bottle by locating the batch number printed on the container label.
-- Click here for a list of affected batches

The list of stores that carry the store brand is long and includes Wal Mart, Safeway, and Kmart Resource Center.
-- Click here for a complete list of stores

The FDA says an investigation is underway to find out why the metal particles got into the 500 mg. caplets.

Perrigo Co. says 70 million caplets went through a metal detector, of which 200 were found to have metal fragments in them. Fragment sizes ranged from tiny microdots to 8 mm.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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