Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Recalls Two Topamaz Lots

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced it is recalling a couple of lots of its Topamax antiseizure drug after receiving complaints of an odd odor coming from the products.

The source of the odor is apparently chemically treated wooden pallets. The company is looking into whether or not other products may be affected in a similar manner.

What caused the problem was pallets that were mislabeled, resulting in the product being placed upon them for shipping.

"The entire supply chain organization is looking at this," J&J spokeswoman Carol Goodrich said.

Johnson and Johnson was trading at $59.90, up $0.30, or 0.50 percent.

Ford's (F) F-150 Pickup Recall Expands to Almost 1.2 Million

The recall of Ford Motor's (NYSE:F) F-150 pickups has expanded to almost 1.2 million trucks because of possible defective air bags.

James Vondale, director of Ford's safety office, said, "To reassure customers of Ford's commitment to safety, and to eliminate any possible customer confusion, Ford is voluntarily recalling this remaining population of vehicles."

Even so, the auto maker was pressured by government safety regulators to make the decision.

The problem is related to air bags being unexpectedly deployed because of an electrical short, and covers F-150 pickup truck made from 2004 through 2006.

Ford told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in May that some drivers reported injuries that included burns from contact with the air bag, bruises, neck and back pain and minor cuts.

Ford was trading at $14.65, down $0.33, or 2.20 percent, as of 12:25 PM EDT.

Pfizer (PFE) Recalls Citalopram, Finasteride on Mislabeling

Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) via its Greenstone LLC unit announced it is recalling two drugs in the United States because they may have been incorrectly labeled by another manufacturer they hired for that purpose.

According to the company, the two drugs being recalled are Citalopram and Finasteride, with some bottles of Citalopram, a depression drug, possibly being labeled inaccurately as Finasteride, which is used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia, and vice versa,

Women who are pregnant should not handle or ingest Finasteride due to risks of side effects that can cause fetal abnormalities, warned Greenstone.

The recall is voluntary, and at this time there have been no illnesses or injuries connected to the situation.

Pfizer closed Friday at $20.35, gaining $0.05, or 0.25 percent.

Ford (F) Recall Nightmare Grows, Adds 35,000 to Total

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) continues to struggle with reputation problems, as it has issued another recall (the third in a month), this time over possible electrical shorts and fuel leaks that could end up starting a fire.

Vehicles being recalled are located in the North American market, and include about 25,000 2010 Ranger pickup trucks and 9,100 Edge cross over SUVs, Lincoln MKX and Super Duty pickup trucks.

The latter three must be galling to the company, as they had already been worked on after a prior recall, and the company still didn't get it right.

The Ranger pickup trucks are being recalled over fuel line leaks, while the rest are being recalled over body control modules.

Ford was trading at $14.76, gaining $0.10, or 0.68 percent, as of 1:04 PM EST.

Ford (NYSE:F) In Another Recall, This Time Explorers

So far in 2011, Ford Motor (NYSE:F) has recalled more vehicles already than it did throughout the entirety of 2010, the latest being Ford Explorers because of safety problems related to the seats in the back.

Over 900,000 vehicles have already been recalled by Ford this year, while last year approximately 600,000 vehicles had been recalled.

So far with the Explorers, over 1,600 are being recalled for the safety issue with the second row of seats, with Ford citing they may not provide enough strength if there were to be an accident.

The Ford Explorers being recalled were made from July through December of 2010.

In the case of the faulty seats, they came from their supplier Lear Corp., whereby the manual mechanism to recline the seat didn't meet federal safety standards.

It's unfortunate to see these things happen to Ford, as they built up a lot of good will with the American when they didn't take a handout from the government like their other American competitors did.

With a seemingly endless string of recalls, that has taken some of the shine off of the company.

It sounds like they need to shore up their quality control in order to catch these things before the reach the market.

Concerning the recalled Explorers, Ford will send out an official recall notice beginning on February 14.

Ford closed Monday at $16.11, gaining $0.39, or 2.48 percent.

General Motors (NYSE:GM) Expands Truck, SUV Axle Recall Again

In what is terrible timing for General Motors (NYSE:GM), not long after their successful return to the NYSE, they're again expanding their recall of trucks and SUVs which had been built with a faulty pin which could cause the rear axle to lock up.

It appeared the recall wasn't going to be much of an issue, just a blip on the company's radar, but GM consistently has been finding new vehicles they used the potentially faulty rear-axle cross pins in, and have been announcing since December, on a consistent basis, new vehicles which shouldn't be driven until the pins have been replaced.

Included in the recalls are Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Cadillac EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Colorado, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe; and GMC Canyon, Sierra, Yukon and Yukon XL.

The first stage of the recall included only 1,262 trucks and SUVs, but has now expanded to 26,751 vehicles. New additions to the recall are the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize trucks.