Recall of Excedrin, NoDoz, Bufferin

BASEL, Switzerland — Novartis is recalling some bottles of Excedrin, NoDoz, Bufferin and Gas-X Sunday over concerns that the bottles could contain stray pills from other medicines, or chipped or broken tablets.

The news follows Novartis' recent decision to temporarily suspend production at its Lincoln, Neb., plant for "maintenance and other improvement activities."

The Swiss drug maker said it implemented the recall, which affects U.S. retailers, voluntarily and is working with the Food and Drug Administration during the process.

It became aware of the potential problem during an internal review that identified broken and chipped pills, and inconsistent bottle packaging that could cause pills to be mixed up. The company said it wanted to make sure that customers didn't take any pills that they might be allergic to or that might become dangerous when mixed with their other medications, though it also said that there have been no such reports from consumers.

Novartis said that some of the bottles of headache medicine Excedrin and caffeine caplets NoDoz with expiration dates of Dec. 20, 2014, or earlier will be subject to the recall.

Some of the packages of pain medicine Bufferin and stomach medicine Gas-X with expiration dates of Dec. 20, 2013, or earlier will also be affected.

The company said it will post more information Monday at www.novartisOTC.com. Customers can also call the company at 1-888-477-2403 Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST.