Fortunately, this is not a medical-emergency recall.

“McNeil Consumer Healthcare… is expanding its voluntary recall to include all available product lots of TYLENOL® Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles with the distinctive red EZ-OPEN CAP.”

Some of the Tylenol Arthritis Pain 100 Count With Ez-Open Cap shipments were pulled back earlier because some customers said that when they opened the bottle, they got… “an unusual moldy, musty, or mildew-like odor that was associated with nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea.”

But it’s not the capsules that are causing the cookie-tossing side effects.

“The uncharacteristic smell is caused by the presence of trace amounts of a chemical called  2,4,6-tribromoanisole.  The source of 2,4,6-tribromoanisole is believed to be the breakdown of a chemical used to treat wooden pallets that transport and store packaging materials. The health effects of this compound have not been well studied, and to date all of the observed events reported to McNeil were temporary and non-serious.”

But still, the last thing you want when you have a headache or body ache is to add nausea, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea to the mix.

Only Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplet 100 count bottles with the red ez-open cap are affected.

UPC # : 0045-0838-21
NDC Code: 8382100
Lot # : 07CMC011, 07DMC022, 07DMC024, 07FMC032, 07FMC033, 07GMC038, 07GMC039, 07HMC045, 07HMC051, 07HMC053, 07JMC064,  07JMC069, 07JMC070, 07JMC071, 07XMC055, 07XMC058, 07XMC062, 08AMC002, 08AMC005, 08CMC026, 08DMC029, 08EMC037, 08EMC039, 08FMC044, 08FMC045, 08GMC050, 08GMC053, 08GMC063, 08GMC065, 08JMC103, 08JMC109, 08JMC110, 08JMC111, 08KMC124, 08KMC127, 08KMC131, 08KMC132, 08XMC093, 08XMC094, 08XMC095, 09AMC010, 09CMC041, 09EMC075, 09EMC079, 09EMC076, 09GMC096, 09GMC097, 09GMC099, 09JMC118, 09JMC126, 09KMC133, 09KMC134, 09XMC114, 09XMC116

Here’s the link to the official FDA recall.

Little shards of steel hurt like hell when they get embedded under your skin. They’re usually harder for me to pull out than simple wood splinters, and they always leave a nice red welt even after they’re gone. I can’t imagine how much damage little shards of steel would do if they would got into my bloodstream.

The Medicines Company said they are going to pull eleven lots of Cleviprex (clevidipine butyrate) injectable emulsion off the market immediately. It turns out that “visible particulate matter… has been observed in some vials during a routine annual inspection.”

Even though “the particulate matter comprises sub-visible inert stainless steel particles of around 2.5 microns. When present in low numbers as observed, particles of this size are not known to constitute a health hazard”, they’re still doing the right thing and pulling them all off the market.

The recall is specifically for “lots 68-407-DJ, 68-408-DJ, 71-101-DJ and 71-106-DJ”

Drop ’em in the Biohazard bin ifya got ’em.

Here’s the link to the official FDA recall.

114,350 lbs of Shelled Hazelnuts are being recalled by Willamette Shelling. That’s 51.87 metric tons! The company recently found out that a few of their Hazelnuts may be contaminated with Salmonella, so they’re doing the right thing and yanking everything that was processed at the infected facility off the market.

Salmonella is such a fun organism. In addition to causing fatal infections in kids, even in perfectly healthy people it offers a multiple choice option of fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. If it really likes you, it gets into your bloodstream and busts out an infected aneurysm for you, endocarditis and maybe even a touch of arthritis.

Fun!

The products in the recall “were packed in 25 lbs. and 50 lbs. corrugated boxes with lot code numbers 296091A, 299091A, 300091A, VH3696BO, and 310091A. Those corrugated boxes bore the following brand names: Kunze Farms, Evonuk Oregon Hazelnuts, Canadian Hazelnuts, and Firestone Farms”

If you have ’em, chunk ’em.

Here’s the link to the official FDA recall.

This is probably a little late for those who went out and indulged themselves over the weekend, but here goes… “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers to avoid eating oysters harvested from the San Antonio Bay… due to reports of norovirus-associated illnesses.”

It looks like about a dozen or so people have become sick with a norovirus-related illnesses all the way up to North and South Carolina as well as other local state consumers who ate the oysters harvested from the San Antonio Bay.

“Symptoms of illness associated with norovirus include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping. Affected individuals often experience low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and a general sense of tiredness. Most people show symptoms within 48 hours of exposure to the virus. The illness typically lasts one to two days. Norovirus typically is not life-threatening and does not generally cause long-term effects.”

The oyster beds in the San Antonio Bay that were causing this problem were shut down by the Texas Department of Health Services on Nov. 26, so this is just a warning to try and catch those shipments still out there.

Here’s the link to the FDA article.

You know, when you label a food item as NOT having something as an ingredient, you would think the food item would NOT have that something as an ingredient. For example: saying there’s “no high fructose corn syrup” would mean there’s no high fructose corn syrup. Easy enough, right?

Well, College Inn is initiating a voluntary recall of College Inn “No MSG” Chicken Broth sold in individual 14 ½ oz cans because… it contains MSG.

This recall affects all College Inn No MSG Chicken Broth Individual 14 ½ oz cans and only the products labeled as “No MSG”.

Plus the recall is in place because the product also contains wheat, which wasn’t listed in the ingredients.

Here’s the link to the official FDA recall.

This is an update to a previous recall on a ViperSheath Sheath Introducer. It’s now reclassified as a Class 1 recall, which is as serious as it gets.

A ViperSheath Sheath Introducer is a “long-coiled, reinforced, kink-resistant catheter-like tube (sheath) that helps a physician insert a catheter into a blood vessel.” The problem is that every once in awhile this ViperSheath Sheath Introducer might just fracture once it is in place. And that would be all kinds of bad. Because then “patients may need unplanned surgery to remove the fragments or to control bleeding. Since this device is coil reinforced, any separation of the cannula (a flexible tube inserted into the body) has the potential to expose portions of the coil, creating the potential for vessel dissection or perforation.”

So if you have Lot ranges S28117 through S29174 and catalog numbers VPR-ISH 5 X 85, VPR-ISH 6 X 85, VPR-ISH 7 X 85, VPR-ISH 5 X 45, VPR-ISH 6 X 45, and/or VPR-ISH 7 X 45 you need to chunk ’em ASAP.

Here’s the link to the updated FDA recall here.

If you’re drinking a Slim-Fast, drop it right now and go get yourself a McRib.

The US Department of Defense Military Health System (An unusual recall source, but it’s valid!) just announced that “the maker of Slim-Fast meal replacement shakes has issued a voluntary recall of Slim-Fast Ready-to-Drink products sold in cans due to a possible contamination that may result in diarrhea and possibly nausea and/or vomiting.”

A McRib never did either of those things to me. Just sayin’.

The recall states that the affected products are “…packaged in paperboard cartons and contain four, six or 12 steel cans that are 11 FL OZ (325 mL) each. Individual cans are also sold in certain retail outlets. The recall involves all Slim-Fast RTD products in cans, regardless of flavor, Best-By date, lot code or UPC number. No other Slim-Fast products are affected by this recall.”

Here’s the link to the US Department of Defense Military Health System Blog on this.

I found another link from the FDA on the recall.

And you can click here to download a two page PDF that has a listing all the affected Slim-Fast products, too.

The CDC has said there are some emails going around that refer to a CDC sponsored State Vaccination Program.

Problem is, there is no such thing.

The release says “The CDC has NOT implemented a state vaccination program requiring registration on www.cdc.gov. Users that click on the email are at risk of having malicious code installed on their system.”

The email or web message asks for the person to create a “personal H1N1 (swine flu) Vaccination Profile on the cdc.gov website” and “anyone that has reached the age of 18 has to have his/her personal Vaccination Profile on the cdc.gov site.” After the person clicks on the link, it takes them to a site that looks like the CDC, but after they put in all their information, the site closes.

Nobody knows where the information is going at this time.

An example image of a fraudulent email is below…

Fradulent CDC email

As a general rule, you shouldn’t ever trust a link in email. Always go the main site in your web browser by typing in the address yourself (or clicking on a bookmark you trust from earlier) and navigate from there.

This recall only affects Houston, Texas. The rest of ya’ll can mosey on by this one.

Today, La Espiga de Oro is recalling their 12 count Fiesta brand Flour Burrito Tortillas because they apparently contain undeclared whey. Little Miss Muffet is not pleased.

“The product was distributed through Fiesta Marts in Houston, Texas in plastic wrap packages labeled Fiesta 12 Flour Burrito Tortillas. The packages have the UPC code 51022 00060, and the recall includes tortilla packages labeled with a date of November 30, 2009 through December 20, 2009.”

Here’s the link to the official FDA recall.

Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat and Premium Edge Hairball cat food has been recalled because they both have the potential to produce Thiamine Deficiency in cats. 21 cases have already been reported about this, and for cats, Thiamine Deficiency is really bad news.

According to the recall article, “….symptoms of deficiency displayed by an affected cat can be gastrointestinal or neurological in nature. At the first stage the cat may show decreased appetite, salivation, vomiting, and weight loss. Later, neurologic signs can develop, which may include ventriflexion (bending towards the floor) of the neck, wobbly walking, circling, falling, and seizures. These ultimately may result in the death of the animal if left untreated.”

“The affected products were distributed in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, [and] Florida.”

“The affected date codes were RAF0501A22X 18lb. (BB28NOV10), RAF0501A2X 6 lb. (BB28NOV10), RAF0802B12X 18lb (BB30FEB11), RAH0501A22X 18 lb. (BB28NOV10), RAH0501A2X 6lb. (BB28NOV10, BB30NOV10, BB08DEC10)”

If you have any of these products, you should probably take your cat to the vet for a checkup even if they aren’t showing any signs yet.

Here’s the link to the official FDA recall notice.