Another Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) unit has instituted a voluntarily recall--this time for contact lenses. Roughly 100,000 boxes of daily disposable contact lenses in certain Asian and European markets have been recalled because of a manufacturing issue linked to complaints of unusual stinging or pain, according to J&J Vision Care. The recall doesn't affect lenses sold in the U.S.
The recall involves the "1-Day Acuvue TruEye" manufactured in Ireland, the Wall Street Journal notes. The company said it received "a limited number of customer complaints in Japan," leading the company to find an "an isolated issue in one portion of the lens-rinsing process on a particular manufacturing line in a select number of lots."
The voluntary recall was initiated in Australia, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macao, Global Times reports. An optical shop owner in Hong Kong tells the Global Times that after J&J's announcement of the recall, customers rushed to his shop asking for refunds or replacements, even though most of them didn't feel any discomfort.
The recall comes days after reports surfaced that J&J is looking to hire people to help improve quality in its McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit. It also hired Ajit Shetty to head a new management team responsible for overseeing manufacturing and quality control issues.
"It's the right thing to do to firstly confess the faults and recall the problematic products and then fix the systematic holes internally," Guo Huimin, deputy dean with the University of International Relations, tells the Global Times, adding that it's the secret to why some international companies still win the customers' trust even after quality problems surface.
- get more from Reuters
- here's the WSJ's coverage
- see the Global Times' report