Recalls of more than a dozen types of antacids — including brand names such as Rolaids, Pepcid and Mylanta — have left store shelves empty, retailers scrambling to increase production of store-brand knockoffs and consumers wondering what’s going on.

And relief may not come soon.

A string of recalls throughout 2010 all involved Johnson & Johnson products. Recalled Pepcid products are slowly being restocked, but others are out indefinitely, pending approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The recalled products’ absence also has put pressure on competitors — such as Tums and store brand antacids — to ramp up production to keep up with increased demand.

“The Kroger brand has experienced a significant increase in demand — a significant enough increase that at times we’ve struggled to keep up in terms of supply,” says John Elliott, a spokesman with Kroger, which just last month created its own Rolaids-equivalent brand in response to the recalls.

In addition, the grocer stepped up production of store brands that were competitors to the other recalled Johnson & Johnson products.

At CVS, the drugstore chain is unabashedly promoting its own brand.

An empty shelf at its Fortville, Ind., location, where Pepcid AC should have been, instead had a sign that read: “Looking for Pepcid AC products? Try CVS/pharmacy Brand for the same great results.”

Joe Culp, a three- to four-times-a-week antacid user, did just that.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t find a recalled brand. He couldn’t even find his favorite variety of competitor Tums.

“The shelves were a little bit empty,” said Culp, who lives in Indianapolis. “Instead of Tums, I had to buy generic.”

In less than four months, 18 antacids have been recalled for various reasons.

In the case of Mylanta’s November recall, packaging neglected to note alcohol in its flavoring agents.

Rolaids’ December recall followed consumer reports of foreign materials in the product, including metal and wood particles. Pepcid’s August recall was initiated because of a potential risk of bottles being punctured during the packaging process.

Just last week, Pepcid appealed to customers on its website.

“We apologize for the inconvenience this may be causing you and assure you we are working diligently to get your products back as quickly as possible.”

Marc Boston, a spokesman with McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson’s largest consumer unit, said the company has posted openly and honestly about the recalls on each brand website.

At Pepcid, for example, “it not only tells you which products are available but also at which online and local market retailers you can find the products,” he said.

Plenty of people are looking.

A recent study found that 1 in 10 people buys an antacid at least once a month. Sales of antacids nationwide jumped 7% in 2010, pulling in $1.2 billion, according to Drug Store News, a publication on the pharmaceutical industry.

The top three brands in terms of market share: Prilosec OTC, with $288.5 million in sales; Zantac 150, with $72.7 million; and Pepcid Complete, with $53.9 million.

That makes the recalls even more worrisome for brands such as Rolaids and Mylanta, which began losing ground after prescription-only Prilosec and Zantac began offering over-the-counter varieties.

And then there are the store brands, which even before the recalls were taking sales from some of the national brands.

The recall has only bolstered that trend.

“If you’ve got a customer who would normally buy a 20-pack of a brand, and they’ve all been recalled, they are going to buy the store brand,” Meijer spokesman Frank Guglielmi said.

18 antacids involved in recalls

Here are products that have been recalled and how to find out when they will be available.

Rolaids
- Rolaids Extra Strength Softchews, Wild Cherry.
Rolaids Extra Strength Softchews, Cherry.
- Rolaids Extra Strength Plus Gas Softchews, Tropical Fruit.
- Rolaids Multi-Symptom Plus Anti-Gas Softchews, Tropical Fruit.
- Details: Consumer reports of foreign materials in the products, including metal and wood particles, prompted a voluntary recall. McNeil-PPC had determined that the materials were potentially introduced into the product during manufacturing at a third-party facility.
To learn more: www.rolaids.com/page.jhtml?id=rolaids/include/recall_dec.inc

Pepcid
- Pepcid Complete chewable tablets, 50-count Tropical Fruit.
- Original Strength Pepcid AC tablets, 90-count.
- Reason for recall: According to Johnson & Johnson and Merck Consumer Pharmaceuticals, a small number of bottles were punctured during the packaging process, prompting a voluntary recall. This is not a consumer-level recall but is at the wholesaler and retailer levels.
- Details: www.pepcid.com/product-availability; www.pepcid.com/news

Mylanta

- Mylanta Regular Strength Original, 12-ounce.
- Mylanta Original, 5-ounce.
- Mylanta Regular Strength Mint, 12-ounce.
- Mylanta Maximum Strength Cherry, 12-ounce.
- Mylanta Maximum Strength Mint, 12-ounce.
- Mylanta Maximum Strength Original, 12-ounce.
- Mylanta Maximum Strength Original, 24-ounce.
- Mylanta Ultimate Strength Mint, 12-ounce.
- Mylanta Ultimate Strength Cherry, 12-ounce.
- Mylanta Supreme Tasting with Calcium Cherry, 12-ounce.
- Mylanta Supreme Tasting with Calcium Cherry, 24-ounce.
- Alternagel, 12-ounce.
- Reason for recall: After consulting with the FDA, Johnson & Johnson and Merck initiated a recall of 12 Mylanta products after an internal review found that information about the presence of alcohol from flavoring agents (less than 1%) was not noted on the packaging. This is a wholesale- and retail-level recall.
- Details: www.mylanta.com/news.
Source: Company news releases

The Indianapolis Staris a Gannett-owned media company.

A unit of Johnson & Johnson announced a nationwide recall on Thursday of all lots — more than 13 million packages — of the soft chewable versions of Rolaids, its popular antacid drug, after reports of consumers finding metal and wood particles in the products.

The unit, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, has been troubled by manufacturing deficiencies over the last year, which has led to a series of recalls of some of the country’s most popular over-the-counter brands. A recall in April alone involved about 136 million bottles of liquid children’s Tylenol and other pediatric products.

Although McNeil said early this year that it was instituting a comprehensive plan to improve its manufacturing and quality control systems — including the temporary closure of a plant in Pennsylvania for an upgrade — some manufacturing problems have continued.

The foreign particles found in the Rolaids were potentially introduced during production at a third-party manufacturer, McNeil said in a statement. McNeil declined to identify the manufacturer.

The recall involves all lots of Rolaids Extra Strength Softchews, all lots of Rolaids Extra Strength Plus Gas Softchews and Rolaids Multi-Symptom Plus Anti-Gas Softchews sold in the United States. While the risk of health problems is remote, McNeil said consumers should stop using the Rolaids involved.

Also on Thursday, Wells Fargo downgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson to market perform, citing risks associated with McNeil’s problems.

Last month, for example, the Food and Drug Administration posted a report on its Web site citing a McNeil plant in Puerto Rico that was inspected this fall for manufacturing problems. The report cited the facility for, among other issues, distributing products that failed quality requirements, failing to identify product defects during routine testing, failing to adequately investigate product problems and inadequate training of laboratory staff.

In an interview last month, Karen Riley, an F.D.A. spokeswoman, said the report indicated that McNeil “continues to have serious quality control issues at its plant and that it is not in compliance with current good manufacturing practices required by federal law.”

Earlier this year, the agency said its office of criminal investigations had opened an inquiry into the company’s conduct surrounding the recent recalls.

Separately, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has held two hearings in which legislators questioned company executives and F.D.A. officials about their conduct in the recalls.

The Rolaids recall “reinforces the committee’s ongoing investigation surrounding the safety protocols in place at J.& J.’s facilities and how the F.D.A. is managing food and drug safety,” Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for the committee chairman-designate, Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California, said. “The committee is in the process of and will continue to seek answers from J.& J. and the F.D.A.”

Johnson & Johnson executives estimated earlier that the recalls and closure of the Pennsylvania plant would reduce sales by about $600 million this year.

In a note to investors on Thursday, Larry Biegelsen, an analyst at Wells Fargo, estimated that there was a 25 to 50 percent chance that McNeil would close the plant in Puerto Rico because of the latest F.D.A. report.

“We believe there is risk to JNJ’s McNeil” over-the-counter business in 2011, he wrote, “and see few potential offsets and prefer to stay on the sidelines until there is some clarity.”

In September, Johnson & Johnson said that the executive in charge of the consumer business, including McNeil, would retire in March, a move analysts interpreted to mean that she was taking the blame for the problems.

In the latest recall, McNeil said it had suspended production of the Rolaids products and would not restart production until it had taken corrective actions.

Consumers who bought the products may call 1-888-222-6036 or go to www.rolaids.comfor instructions about a refund, McNeil said.

Since the problems with Tylenol and other children’s liquid medicines this spring, the company has heightened its vigilance in recalling products that may not meet manufacturing standards.

Last month, for example, after a review identified manufacturing problems, McNeil recalled nine million bottles of liquid Tylenol Cold Multi-Symptom to update labels, 71,000 packages of soft chewable Rolaids because of an unusual texture caused by crystallized sugar, four million packages of Benadryl and 850,000 bottles of Motrin.

Unlike Thursday’s consumer recall, the November recalls were at the wholesale and retail levels. That meant stores stopped selling the products, but people could continue to use them, McNeil said.

Other Johnson & Johnson units have experienced problems this year. In August, for example, the DePuy Orthopaedics unit recalled two kinds of hip implants because many patients required a second replacement after the implants failed.

While the risk of serious health effects is “remote,” consumers who have purchased Rolaids Extra Strength Softchews, Rolaids Extra Strength plus Gas Softchews, or Rolaids Multi- Symptom plus Anti-Gas Softchews should stop using the products, J&J’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit said today in a statement.

J&J, the world’s largest health products company, has recalled more than 40 medicines this year amid complaints of contamination. The withdrawals forced McNeil’s Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, plant to suspend operations and were expected to reduce 2010 sales by about $600 million, the company said in October. U.S. lawmakers have been investigating New Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J’s handling of the recalls.

“The more of these events that occur, the more scrutiny they are going to get from regulators,” said Les Funtleyder, a portfolio manager at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York. “They’ve already been called in front of Congress twice.”

Rolaids tablets were among 500 lots of drugs J&J pulled in January because of possible contamination with a wood chemical used in shipping and packing materials. That recall, which also included Motrin and Tylenol, expanded in June after consumer complaints of a musty odor and reports of diarrhea, nausea and vomiting among people who used the products.

Children’s Medicines

McNeil in April withdrew more than 40 types of children’s over-the-counter liquid medicines because of “manufacturing deficiencies,” the Food and Drug Administration said May 1. Last month, the company recalled 4 million packages of children’s Benadryl allergy tablets and about 800,000 bottles of junior-strength Motrin after identifying manufacturing problems. Another recall last month involved one lot of Rolaids soft chews after consumers complained of an unusual consistency that was traced to crystallized sugar.

Today’s Rolaids recall involves 96 product lots and 13,037,772 packages of soft-chews, Marc Boston, a J&J spokesman said in an e-mail. The products were made by a third-party manufacturer, he said.

The latest recall “provides a troubling indication that the company continues to exhibit serious shortcomings with its quality-control procedures,” Representative Edolphus Towns, a New York Democrat, said today in an e-mail. Towns heads the House Oversight and Government Reformpanel that began its investigation of J&J more than eight months ago.

Continuing Investigation

Representative Darrell Issa of California, a Republican who will become chairman of the panel next year, will continue investigating “the safety protocols in place at J&J’s facilities, and how the FDA is managing food and drug safety,” Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for Issa, said in an e-mail.

McNeil has stopped making the three types of Rolaids soft chews and won’t resume production until “corrective actions have been implemented,” the company said.

Investors would welcome “a couple of months without a recall event,” Funtleyder said today in an interview. “I think investors’ expectations are pretty low at this point.”

J&J declined 39 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $62.06 at 4:01 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have lost 3.7 percent this year.

Two weeks after recalling some cherry flavored Rolaids softchews for “uncharacteristic consistency or texture,” Johnson & Johnson’s beleaguered McNeil Laboratories division has issued a slightly larger Rolaids recall. And by “slightly,” we mean all lots of Rolaids Extra Strength Softchews, Extra Strength plus Gas Softchews, and Multi-Symptom plus Anti-Gas Softchews.

McNeil is taking this action following some consumer reports of foreign materials in the product, including metal and wood particles. The company’s investigation has determined that the materials were potentially introduced into the product during the manufacturing process at a third party manufacturer. While the risk of serious adverse health consequences is remote, McNeil Consumer Healthcare advises consumers who have purchased these recalled products to discontinue use.
”
The company says it is investigating the matter and has halted production on these products “until corrective actions have been implemented.”

Consumers who purchased product included in this recall should contact McNeil Consumer Healthcare, either at www.rolaids.com or by calling 1-888-222-6036 (Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, and Saturday-Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time) for instructions about receiving a refund. Consumers who have medical concerns or questions should contact their healthcare provider.

For complete list of recalled lots, go to the official recall notice on Rolaids.com

Feeling a little heartburn? Skip the Rolaids Softchews, unless you like your antacids chunk-style.

In its latest big recall because of quality problems, Johnson & Johnson is pulling all batches of  various Rolaids Softchews. The problem? Some consumers have found pieces of metal and wood inside the squishy acid-fighters.

J&J’s McNeil division, marketer of these products and a slew of others dogged by quality issues, says an investigation revealed the contamination could have happened at a contract manufacturer.

For a complete rundown of the affected Rolaids, see the recall website from McNeil.

In case this Rolaids business sounds familiar, about a month ago McNeil recalled a batch of cherry-flavored Softchews because they had a weird texture due to crystallized sugar.

Johnson & Johnson has been under scrutiny all year for quality lapses and the way it allegedly concealed recalls of some medicines.

In a statement issued after the latest recall was announced, Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said:

I launched the committee’s investigation into Johnson and Johnson more than eight months ago in order to provide the American people answers they deserve about the safety of Johnson and Johnson’s over the counter products. Today’s recall provides a troubling indication that the company continues to exhibit serious shortcomings with its quality control procedures.