I still think the Stuxnet virus has something to do with all of these recent recalls.

They just don't want to admit it for obvious reasons.

Puerto Rico is an American Territory and its people are American Citizens. The FDA would have the same jurisdiction there as anywhere else in the U.S.

This was made in the U.S. and the plant is closed because of hygene issues, High volume of mexican labor is used in that plant. Go figure.

Agreed.

FYI -- No sunscreens have an expiration date, not just the J&J ones. Expiration dating means that at some point, the product will be ineffective...sunscreens are effective for lengthy periods of time, far in excess of when the chemical degradation would occur. Sunscreens are seasonal products in most markets (exception being southern states), and a majority of unsold product is returned to the manufacturer at the end of the season. The production for the following year is increased/decreased based on how much was sold the previous year. This way, you're never having product sit on the shelves for years at a time.

As for Neosporin, it's an ointment with no active ingredient to break down, therefore no expiration date. It doesn't need one.

Expiration dating is for products in which chemical degradation will limit the effectiveness of the product. You don't have this scenario with the products you mention, therefore no expiration date. It's not a sneaky manuever by any stretch...it's just not necessary.

Wow, you've really gone off the deep end. Here are a few points to consider, however:

1. J&J has a long history of third-party manufacturing. It's the way they've always operated, save for a few US manufacturing facilities. Consider that there are over 100 J&J subsidiary companies, and most of them operate with third-party manufacturers, not their own individual plants.

2. Third-party manufacturers give the ability to easily cut and run when issues arise. When these companies know that J&J could take away business in a heartbeat, they don't relax on product quality.

3. The major issue with J&J and the FDA this year was with an internal J&J manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, not with a third-party manufacturer. This led to most of the recalls for this year.

4. The recent recalls for Tylenol, Mylanta, etc. were based on the chemical treatment of wooden pallets and the lack of information from a supplier as to the alcohol content of the flavoring used in some formulas. This has nothing to do with whether the company is in the US or overseas.

5. This is not "sneaky weaseling", as this is a VOLUNTARY recall, and the money used for the recalls is coming straight out of J&J's pockets. If they tried to justify the sale and use of these products without a recall could be weaseling, but to recall everything out of precaution is not sneaky in the least bit. Especially when it's so public. This is to insulate them from any lawsuit-sniffing lawyers, and is to protect the public at-large.

6. Finally, the product recalled for the alcohol content issue will be relabeled, repackaged, and sold. The company is eating the cost of recalling the product, but the product will be back on the market and therefore your figure of a billion or so dollars is not quite accurate, not to mention the fact that the per bottle figure you gave is the retail price, not the price sold by J&J.

Please take your conspiracy theories elsewhere. You'll find that most things you buy are made by third-party manufacturers, not just globally but also right here in the United States.

@penguin:

Sneaky weaseling abounds at the dawn of the early-21st century . . .

Regarding the idea that "the product recalled for the alcohol content issue will be relabeled, repackaged, and sold", I certainly hope not . . .

The thought of hundreds of low-paid temporary workers opening individual packages, handling the containers and perhaps the contents, and then repackaging everything is a bit frightening, really . . .

Really!

No doubt, all the temporary workers will be screened for influenza and other communicable diseases, and all of them will be wearing "clean suits" in a sanitized work area . . .

And the Tooth Fairy is real . . .

On the other hand, your information regarding a lot of so-called "brand-name" products actually being made by third-party manufacturers appears to be quite accurate, which is not a comforting thing from my perspective, since it pretty much negates the justification for paying more for a "brand-name" product based on the apparent fantasy that the additional cost is due to higher quality manufacturing practices, better paid workers, and top-quality raw materials . . .

Common sense tends to suggest strongly that if Johnson & Johnson actually was making high-quality products, then there would be no recalls of their products, so the general view here in the sound isolation studio is that the best strategy regarding Johnson & Johnson is to "Just say, 'No!'", for sure . . .

For sure!

P. S. The biggest problem with the idea of "repackaging" recalled products that already have been shipped to distributors and stores but then are returned is that the original supplier (in this instance, Johnson & Johnson) has lost control over security, hence Johnson & Johnson cannot state for certain whether the products are (a) genuine and pristine or (b) counterfeit and adulterated, which I think is more than sufficient reason to destroy all of it . . .

Otherwise, it becomes a matter of using applied mathematics (probability, statistics, and so forth) and actuarial science, since it probably is neither practical nor possible to have a worker check every individual package to verify that the lot number and other security information is correct, as well as to ensure that none of the packages and containers have been opened or whatever . . .

Whatever!

So, one has to do what I call the "light bulb thing", where the basic strategy is to select a few light bulbs and to test them to determine the confidence level with respect to the light bulbs actually working for a specified amount of time, although in practice there is a lot more involved than just randomly selecting a few light bulbs, since quality control testing is done at every step in the manufacturing process based on some variation of Statistical Process Control . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistical_process_control

Depending on which of many sources one finds to be more credible, I think that it is reasonable to suggest that perhaps as much as 10 percent of medicines are counterfeit and either do not contain the stated active ingredients or contain a lot of other stuff, some of which can be deadly and in fact has been a problem in our great nation for a long time, where an adulterated or tainted batch of medicine that caused deaths in the 1937 is what led to the Congress in 1938 creating the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which gave the FDA considerably expanded authority and power . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_and_Drug_Administration#The_1938_Food.2C_Drug.2C_and_Cosmetic_Act

So that we are clear on the "sneaky weaseling" aspect, my perspective is that the sneaky weasel approach will be either (a) to do as you suggested and simply presume that all the recalled products are genuine and pristine at which time they will be repackaged and then resold with correct labeling or (b) to do the repackaging and relabeling but instead of reselling the products in the US, ship the repackaged products to a third-world country and sell them there, based on a variety of elaborate actuarial and statistical calculations that weigh the cost and profit factors of the various scenarios with respect to the probability of consumer problems, the cost of domestic vs. foreign shipping, adverse event litigation, and so and so on . . .

Another option might be simply to attach a sticker to each package without every opening it, which also falls into what I consider to be the "sneaky weaseling" category . . .

Historically, the general concept of highly-secure tamper-proof packaging of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs originated with Tylenol after a series of murders in Chicago in 1982, where Extra Strength Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide killed seven people . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tylenol_murders

Folks younger than perhaps 35 to 40 years-old probably have no idea about all that mess and the way it changed packaging, but prior that event nearly nothing sold in grocery and drug stores over-the-counter had anything even remotely resembling highly-secure tamper-proof packaging, including food . . .

Jars of mayonnaise did not have plastic security seals, and nothing else had plastic or aluminum foil safety seals, although as best as I can recall, I think that the lids on plastic gallon containers of milk were the same in the 1970s as they are today, since I remember saving the lids and using them for checkers, where the general strategy was to get an equal number of containers with red tops and some other color of tops, which usually was possible either by switching brands or getting a different type of milk (for example, buttermilk or chocolate milk), since the tops usually were color-coded to specific products . . .

Of course, another reality at the dawn of the early-21st century is that for the most part nobody cares about anything anymore except pinching pennies, and the same general sneaky weasel thinking that created the current huge mess at Johnson & Johnson probably will continue to self-perpetuate itself by making more patently bad decisions . . .

If I were the product manager for Tylenol at Johnson & Johnson, there is no way I would allow even one bottle of Tylenol to be repackaged, relabeled, or anything else after it left the factory, because those words lead quickly to opening a can of worms that took Johnson & Johnson years, if not decades, to close and to relegate to the dark side of history . . .

The fact of the matter is that nobody over the age of 40-years old or thereabout will touch a bottle of Tylenol that does not look right, and while I have purchased some Tylenol at various times in the 1990s, it was the elaborate highly-secure and tamper-proof packaging that provided a good level of comfort, even though getting the actual bottle open took a few minutes, which is fine with me, for sure . . .

For sure!

The thinking here in the sound isolation studio is that if it requires a knife or a pair of pliers to remove the foil safety seal on a bottle of Hunt's Ketchup, then I am very happy, especially since the fine folks at Hunt's stopped using high-fructose corn syrup and started using pure cane sugar for their now outstanding ketchup, really . . .

Really! :)

P. P. S. To be clear regarding the most recent recalls, there were 12 million bottles of Mylanta, 85,000 bottles of AlternaGel, and 9 million bottles of Tylenol, as explained in this news report from REUTERS, where the Mylanta and AlternaGel products are liquid in bottles that most likely have the ingredients incorrectly stated, so "repackaging" them would require either (a) emptying the liquid from the bottles and putting it into new correctly labeled bottles or (b) putting a new correct label on top of the existing incorrect label, which is a mess, since overall it conveys the message that the product has been shipped all over the place and handled by a virtual festival of people, most of whom are not under the direct control and supervision of Johnson & Johnson . . .

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B105420101202

However, there might be a way to build a machine that would verify the antacid bottles; wash and rinse them; and then automatically open and dump the liquid into a bit vat, where one might suppose the liquid in the vat could be tested to ensure that it is what it is supposed to be, at which point it could be rebottled and sold, but does anyone sell that type of machinery?

I have no idea, but anything is possible . . .

Whether it makes any sense to do all that work is another matter, so my best guess is that if the folks at Johnson & Johnson have any sense and additionally have some skilled tax accountants, then they will destroy the recalled products and enjoy the benefits of a handsome tax deduction, as well probably as a nice insurance claim, since they probably have insurance policies for stuff like this . . .

And regarding conspiracy theories, I think that when a company has to recall 200 million products for quality control issues, then ipso facto it is well beyond anything associated with conspiracies, hypotheses, and theories . . .

A conspiracy theory is that the Reptilians are increasing their activities deep underground, which among other things caused the recent BP "Macondo" well blowout and oil spill, as well as the ongoing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, all of which are related directly to the discovery of the Montezuma's "Black Room" and portal to the underworld underneath Mexico City, the Desaguadero Meteor near Lake Titicaca just a few hundred miles southeast of Machu Picchu, and the Guatemala City sinkholes . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptilians

The evidence is overwhelming, but until we actually capture a Reptilian, where is the proof?

I have no idea . . .

The thought of hundreds of low-paid temporary workers opening individual packages, handling the containers and perhaps the contents, and then repackaging everything is a bit frightening, really

Taking bottles out of packaging and relabeling/repackaging by machine isn't that hard to do. It's done all the time whenever a mistake is noted. It doesn't have to be done in clean suits or clean rooms...you're not opening the filled bottles to relabel the outside, and there's no requirement for the product to be sterile (which would necessitate the clean suits).

No doubt, all the temporary workers will be screened for influenza and other communicable diseases, and all of them will be wearing "clean suits" in a sanitized work area

This doesn't happen when the product is initially filled and packaged, so why would you expect it to occur when it's just relabeled?

...since it pretty much negates the justification for paying more for a "brand-name" product based on the apparent fantasy that the additional cost is due to higher quality manufacturing practices, better paid workers, and top-quality raw materials

Hold your horses, there...although the products are made by contracted facilities, they are still made via high quality manufacturing practices with top-quality raw materials according to the standards of the parent company (in this case J&J). These contract manufacturers are directed to buy specific raw materials from specific audited suppliers, and are held to the same standards as "in-house" operations. These third-party manufacturers are audited by J&J and if they don't abide by the rules, they don't produce anymore for the company. So relax...everything's on the up and up.

Common sense tends to suggest strongly that if Johnson & Johnson actually was making high-quality products, then there would be no recalls of their products

Uh, no. Every company has recalls. Need I remind you that this is a voluntary recall to include more information about the alcohol content of one of the flavoring ingredients. This is not about "bad" product that doesn't meet specification. You would be out of luck if you tried to find products from companies that never repackaged or recalled some product for a minor issue like this.

The biggest problem with the idea of "repackaging" recalled products that already have been shipped to distributors and stores but then are returned is that the original supplier (in this instance, Johnson & Johnson) has lost control over security, hence Johnson & Johnson cannot state for certain whether the products are (a) genuine and pristine or (b) counterfeit and adulterated, which I think is more than sufficient reason to destroy all of it

That's why there's tamper-evident packaging, dude. That came out of the Tylenol scare of the 1980s. You're behind the times.

since it probably is neither practical nor possible to have a worker check every individual package to verify that the lot number and other security information is correct, as well as to ensure that none of the packages and containers have been opened or whatever

There's electronic label verification equipment involving cameras and UV detection to ensure that the label information is correct and that the tamper-evident packaging is intact. Maybe you should know what you're talking about before shooting your mouth off.

Depending on which of many sources one finds to be more credible, I think that it is reasonable to suggest that perhaps as much as 10 percent of medicines are counterfeit

These statistics relate to the medicine entering the country from overseas, not to medicine on the shelves from intact, monitored distribution channels. Again, think before you speak. As for statistical process control, that's a staple in the pharma and consumer industry...already in place, buddy. AQLs are used every day to sample product.

to do the repackaging and relabeling but instead of reselling the products in the US, ship the repackaged products to a third-world country and sell them there

Your cynicism shows no bounds. Why even repackage if you're going to ship outside this country (especially since most other countries take different label copies in different languages)? This makes no sense!

Another option might be simply to attach a sticker to each package without every opening it, which also falls into what I consider to be the "sneaky weaseling" category

Not if it's a voluntarily recall to include additional information missing from the additional information. Again, this is done all the time, with the next label copy revision incorporating the new wording directly on the labeling. This is by no means sneaky -- attaching an extra label does not mislead in any way, shape, or form!

If I were the product manager for Tylenol at Johnson & Johnson, there is no way I would allow even one bottle of Tylenol to be repackaged, relabeled, or anything else after it left the factory

Once again, the product in the primary package is untouched, with the security seal remaining on the bottles. Only the labeling will change. I don't understand how you think that the product inside the bottle could have been altered. I think you're misunderstanding the term "repackaged". It means the labeling and secondary packaging, NOT the bottle itself.

To be clear regarding the most recent recalls, there were 12 million bottles of Mylanta, 85,000 bottles of AlternaGel, and 9 million bottles of Tylenol, as explained in this news report from REUTERS, where the Mylanta and AlternaGel products are liquid in bottles that most likely have the ingredients incorrectly stated, so "repackaging" them would require either (a) emptying the liquid from the bottles and putting it into new correctly labeled bottles...

You clearly don't understand the issue. They would NEVER empty the liquid from the bottles. Relabeling and repackaging them would not necessitate this. Sorry, you're just wrong here. Nowhere in the articles or communication from J&J did it say this was required.

It is clear you do not understand the issue or corrective actions necessary here. Please stop with your false rumors...it does no one any good to blather on about fictitious "emptying the bottles" strategies...that is not the case here.

@penguin:

It appears that the discussion has wandered even deeper into conspiracy theories, which certainly works for me, since being an entertainer who currently composes songs about ladies underpants, I have plenty of free time with nothing to do other than to practice creative writing and touch-typing, which is fabulous . . .

http://www.surfwhammys.com/Im-Going-Goo-Goo-Over-Ga-Ga-11-28-2010-2-DP7.mp3

Fabulous!

And prior to jumping head over heels into the most obvious conspiracy theory, let me take a moment to state two facts:

(1) I am having a discussion with a penguin . . .

(2) Other than ladies Jell-O® wrestling--but only when watched exclusively by men--there is only one non-gay sport, which to be specific is golf . . .

Why is golf not a gay sport?

Great question!

(1) Each player is required to his his own clubs and balls (ipso facto, sharing clubs and balls is prohibited) . . .

(2) Touching the shaft of another player's club is prohibited, as is touching another player's balls . . .

(3) Each hole is surrounded by turf and has a clearly identified entry point with a "little flag" on top . . .

(4) Players who hit their balls "out of bounds" are penalized two points for bad aim . . .

(5) Foreplay is expected, and there are no penalties for taking a long time to get to the hole . . .

You wrote this:

That's why there's tamper-evident packaging, dude. That came out of the Tylenol scare of the 1980s. You're behind the times.

I wrote this:

Historically, the general concept of highly-secure tamper-proof packaging of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs originated with Tylenol after a series of murders in Chicago in 1982, where Extra Strength Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide killed seven people . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tylenol_murders

Folks younger than perhaps 35 to 40 years-old probably have no idea about all that mess and the way it changed packaging, but prior that event nearly nothing sold in grocery and drug stores over-the-counter had anything even remotely resembling highly-secure tamper-proof packaging, including food . . .

Jars of mayonnaise did not have plastic security seals, and nothing else had plastic or aluminum foil safety seals, although as best as I can recall, I think that the lids on plastic gallon containers of milk were the same in the 1970s as they are today, since I remember saving the lids and using them for checkers, where the general strategy was to get an equal number of containers with red tops and some other color of tops, which usually was possible either by switching brands or getting a different type of milk (for example, buttermilk or chocolate milk), since the tops usually were color-coded to specific products . . .

Of course, another reality at the dawn of the early-21st century is that for the most part nobody cares about anything anymore except pinching pennies, and the same general sneaky weasel thinking that created the current huge mess at Johnson & Johnson probably will continue to self-perpetuate itself by making more patently bad decisions . . .

If I were the product manager for Tylenol at Johnson & Johnson, there is no way I would allow even one bottle of Tylenol to be repackaged, relabeled, or anything else after it left the factory, because those words lead quickly to opening a can of worms that took Johnson & Johnson years, if not decades, to close and to relegate to the dark side of history . . .

The fact of the matter is that nobody over the age of 40-years old or thereabout will touch a bottle of Tylenol that does not look right, and while I have purchased some Tylenol at various times in the 1990s, it was the elaborate highly-secure and tamper-proof packaging that provided a good level of comfort, even though getting the actual bottle open took a few minutes, which is fine with me, for sure . . .

For sure!

Consequently, it is obvious by your reply either (a) that you did not actually read my previous reply or (b) that you intentionally ignored my remarks about the Chicago Tylenol Murders, which of course points only to one thing, which is that you have information that you want to reveal but cannot at this time reveal, although you would like to reveal it . . .

So, toward the goal of helping you with your dilemma, I think it will be useful to review what we know from studying news reports of recent events and the historical documents:

(1) Long before the 2008 election, our President--an Hawaiian who apparently was trained as a youngster in a Muslim school in Indonesia--befriended Bill Ayers and moved to Chicago, and we know that Bill Ayers was a terrorist bomber and a high-ranking leader of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and sometime later the Weather Underground . . .

(2) Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa apparently disappeared just a few years after Bill Ayers moved to a senior position in the Weather Underground . . .

(3) When rising to power within the Students for a Democratic Society, Bill Ayers was headquartered in Detroit, Michigan . . .

(4) Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa was seen for the last time outside the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Detroit, Michigan . . .

(5) Red Foxx was an African-American comedian who had a popular television series called "Sanford and Son" . . .

(6) The Sanford company makes pencils and pens . . .

(7) Pencils and pens are used by writers to compose speeches like the various campaign speeches President Obama makes, as well as his State of the Union addresses . . .

(8) President Obama has strong ties to many people in Chicago . . .

(9) Bill Ayers lives in Chicago not so far from President Obama's house, which then political activist and U. S. Senator Obama apparently obtained in what appears to be a "sweetheart" deal that occurred on the same day as another real estate sale of adjacent properties, which involved reputed Chicago mobster Tony Rezko . . .

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/124171,CST-NWS-obama05.article

(10) The federal prosecutor investigating the Tony Rezko conspiracy case is Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the U. S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois . . .

(11) The only U. S. chief executive with formal university training in Economics was President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, although he was best known by his nickname "Jack" . . .

(12) Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown. And Jill came running after . . .

(13) President "Jack" Kennedy's wife was Jacqueline Kennedy, which is the feminine French name derived from Jacques . . .

(14) On September 23, 2010 Christopher G. Kennedy, who is the son of U. S. Senator and Attorney General Robert Kennedy, was instrumental in denying Bill Ayers emeritus status at the University of Illinois, in part because Bill Ayers dedicated a book to the terrorist assassin who murdered Kennedy's father . . .

(15) Within weeks of Bill Ayers being denied emeritus status, there were new rounds of Tylenol recalls . . .

(16) And there were initial rounds of Tylenol recalls earlier this year beginning just a few weeks after the 40th anniversary of the March 7, 1970 explosions in Greenwich Village which resulted in the deaths of several friends of Bill Ayers who also were fellow Students for a Democratic Society, where as he describes it at his website this explosive event "announced widely the existence of the Weather Underground" . . .

http://billayers.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/march-6-19702010-a-day-to-remember/

COMMENTS

I think that with this foundation of facts, it is not so difficult to connect the dots, and if you have any information that you care to reveal about the involvement of President Obama, Bill Ayers, the Weather Underground, and Antoin "Tony" Rezko in the disappearance of Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa and the Chicago Tylenol Murders, it is OK to tell the world, because the truth will set you free, for sure . . .

For sure! :)

Consequently, it is obvious by your reply either (a) that you did not actually read my previous reply or (b) that you intentionally ignored my remarks about the Chicago Tylenol Murders

No, dude...I read it, but it in no way resembles the facts in this matter. Fact: There are tamper-evident packages for this recall, which would easily show any package that had been opened. Easily screened before repackaging. Fact: The bottles WILL NOT be opened during repackaging. The primary (bottle) or secondary (carton) packaging will be relabeled, but the bottles will remain sealed. There is NO possibility for the Tylenol incident to repeat itself, which is why I said your argument is moot here.

That being said, there are three recall incidents you seem to be mixing up, none of which have anything to do with the recalls from the 80s due to cyanide.

The first is a microbiological screening that was not done for children's Tylenol products (among others) for which B. cepacia was not tested. This caused the PA plant to be shut down for the time being. Product was recalled and NOT put back out to market, as testing would require opening the primary package.

The second involved chemically-treated pallets (instead of heat-treated), which caused a musty odor in bottles. Product was recalled and NOT put back out to market, as it affected the product inside the bottle.

The third is this issue, in which one flavoring component had trace amounts of alcohol. The product will remain unopened, and will be relabeled to disclose the trace alcohol content. Nothing sinister here.

Please stop with the conspiracy nonsense and actually learn the facts before posting. Your lengthy drivel about nonsensical topics is annoying.

@penguin:

So it is like the Pepsi-Cola glass bottles in the late-1960s and early-1970s that had the red, white, and blue dots, where only the bottles with the red dots did not have LSD added by the CIA?

I can see this working, because consumers just need to avoid the Tylenol that has alcohol, which should be easy to do if they read the label . . .

Of course, since the contraindications for Tylenol state very clearly that taking Tylenol with alcohol can cause liver failure, this creates a bit of a paradox, but it might be resolved by adding a so-called "black box" warning to the repackaging, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous! :)

There are TRACE levels of alcohol in the product's FLAVORING, which is a minimal FRACTION of the overall formula. You're really stretching here. But this is exactly why the recall was done. You're proving my point. The recall will correct this oversight, which was the fault of the flavoring company for not disclosing the alcohol amount in the flavoring, and now you want to rip J&J apart for doing the right thing? I don't get it. Your conspiracy theories do not apply here, though.

As the alcohol is only present in trace amounts of a flavoring which is then only a fraction of the overall formula, it likely has no effect at all. You might want to consult with the doctor who suggested taking the product for an infant, however. I don't know if the product was ever meant for infants, but it's unlikely that this fraction of a percent of alcohol would ever make a difference. The recall is based mainly for legal purposes, not for a health hazard.

What is worse then a product recall? The mass hysteria caused by ignorance that follows. Not sayin' you are going crazy Cindy, however some people are so easy to panic without getting full details and information. Calm down and have a chat with your doctor. Chances are very very very small that it means anything for an infant. But I agree with penguin....mylanta for an infant? Who knew?

This was a voluntary recall by J&J, not directed by the FDA.

SC Johnson & Son = private consumer company

Johnson & Johnson = publicly-traded consumer, pharma, & medical device company

2 different companies (Wikipedia pages for the 2 companies actually say "not to be confused with" the other company at the start of each page).

I think part of the problem has to do with these outside vendors that don't have control over their own operations. It usually stems from cost-cutting (especially in these hard economic times), where behind the big company's back (in this case J&J), the third-party company chooses a cheaper (and potentially lesser-quality) option for raw materials, etc. These decisions are usually out of the hands of J&J, unless a specific grade and supplier is requested to be used in the product specifications.

Sometimes it's also a mix-up of components at the third party site. If only J&J is requesting that a certain material is used, and all other companies serviced by the third party company use another material, it's not hard to imagine that an operator might inadvertently use one material over another when automated tracking systems aren't used. So I don't know whether reverting back to human tracking is the answer either, as human error is more likely than automated system errors.

Finally, I think that the frequency of these recalls are the result of the findings from the original McNeil plant (J&J owned) in Pennsylvania. More scrutiny stemming from this FDA audit led to everyone re-examining their own vendors, suppliers, and manufacturers. This in turn led to "Aha!" moments at certain vendors who weren't following the specifications, therefore the frequent recalls as the deficiencies were found. I expect this to continue for awhile until control is completely restored, with a relative period of quiet after all deficiencies are settled.

That being said, other companies (and not just pharma companies either) are recalling products too, but since J&J was in the spotlight for their huge recall earlier this year, any recall by them is subject to another big headline. Let's hope that they restore to their glory, because obviously 2010 has been a huge headache for them (ironic that Tylenol gave them a headache rather than cure it).