A nauseating "moldy" odor has sickened some people using Tylenol Arthritis Pain Caplet 100-count bottles with red EZ-Open caps.
Tylenol maker McNeil PPC Inc. has recalled all of this product, which is easily recognized by its distinctive red cap. The new recall expands a five-lot recall of the product announced last November.
McNeill says consumers reported the product had "an unusual moldy, musty, or mildew-like odor" linked to symptoms of nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea."
So far, all of these health events "were temporary and non-serious," McNeill says in a news release.
The source of the odor appears to come from the breakdown product of a chemical used to treat the wooden pallets on which the product's packaging materials were transported and stored.
The chemical linked to the odor, 2,4,6-tribromoanisole, is produced when fungi break down a commonly used fungicide called 2,4,6-tribromophenol. The full health effects of 2,4,6-tribromoanisole are not known.