Johnson & Johnson’s product recall mess is now the stuff of legend. BestSweet, a confectionary company that produced Rolaids for J&J, is less known. But there seems to be some hypocrisy in the way this is being investigated.
U.S. Representative Darrell Issa, who is looking into the J&J product contaminations and recalls, seems to be devoting more criticism of BestSweet than against J&J. Let me explain. Numerous J&J manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Puerto Rico are racking up FDA violations like it’s a basketball game – America’s most respected drug company has received dozens on top of dozens of violations. In comparison, BestSweet’s most recent FDA inspection in October 2009 found no violations (compared to the dozens for J&J).
I have to ask why Rep. Issa is spending so much time focusing on a contract manufacturer like BestSweet in North Carolina, while the real problem is still back in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The BestSweet drama is a sideshow to the main event – a distraction. The real issue is why J&J wasn’t maintaining GMP at its own facilities and in those of its contractors (around the world).
Let’s not take our eye of the ball – there’s a cesspool on the banks of the Raritan River. And it’s time to clean it up.
