This Newest Wrinkle In The Contaminated Tylenol Story Is Not Helping Me Feel Better

Here are a few things that the FDA found while checking out the Pennsylvania plant that produces the liquid versions of children’s Tylenol, Benadryl, and Zyrtec — all of which were recalled last week by manufacturer McNeil Consumer Healthcare: “Thick dust and grime covering certain equipment”! “A hole in the ceiling”! “Duct tape-covered pipes”! Also, “raw ingredients contaminated by an unspecified bacteria” and, perhaps most importantly, corporate knowledge of many of these conditions. Yum. Production at the suburban Philadelphia plant has been suspended while the cleaning crews get called in, which is probably for the best since the facility also makes adult-appropriate products. But there’s a bright side, at least: “The latest recalls of children’s Tylenol probably means there’s just less upside to J&J;’s earnings estimates,” one financial analyst told Reuters, which helpfully noted that McNeil’s parent Johnson & Johnson rakes in about $62 billion in sales a year. But wait, does less “upside” mean less money for fixing pipes? So many questions!