On Thursday the Food and Drug Administration issued a recall for about 11 million bottles of the painkiller acetaminophen. Here's what you need to know.
1. Not all acetaminophen is affected. Only certain bottles of 500 mg caplets made by Perrigo Company were recalled. Perrigo sells its products to over 120 generic retailers, including Wal-Mart, CVS, Safeway and SuperValu. Products sold under the Tylenol label, the most popular brand of acetaminophen, are not affected. See www.fda.gov for a complete list of affected labels.
2. The Perrigo bottles could be contaminated with small metal particles that range in size from "microdots" to 8 mm long wire fragments.
3. FDA believes the particles pose no serious health risk, but swallowing the pills could cause minor stomach discomfort and cuts to the mouth and throat. See your physician if you notice any unusual symptoms, and report them to FDAs MedWatch Program, at 800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.
4. If you think you have an affected bottle, you should call Perrigo's Consumer Affairs Department at 877-546-0454 for further instructions.
5. Apparently, the source of the metal contaminants was machinery that had worn down. Perrigo picked up on the problem during a quality control check, and so far, government officials do not believe the contamination was intentional.
6. In 1982, seven people in the U.S. died after ingesting Tylenol laced with cyanide. In that case, police believe the tampering was deliberate, and may have actually occurred in stores once the bottles had left the manufacturing plants. The culprit was never found.
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